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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 




^istoru of tl)c Sooalittca 



Blessed Virgin Mary 



21 Memorial 



THE TERCENTENARY JUBILEE 



1^84-1884 




Boston 

THOMAS B. NOONAN AND COMPANY 

17-21 BOYLSTON STREET 

1885 



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Copyright 
By Thomas B. Noonan & Co. 



The Library 
of Congress 




WASHINGTON 



tmp96 



02903( 



ELECTROTYPED 
BY C. J. PETERS AND SON, BOSTON 



TO THE ERETHREN 

OF OUR LADY'S SODALITY 

IN THE UNITED STATES, 

ALREADY NUMEROUS, FERVENT, AND ORGANIZED, 

WE INSCRIBE THIS TRANSLATION 

OF A RECORD OF THREE CENTURIES, 

WHICH, ADORNED WITH THE 

RELIGIOUS GLORIES OF THE OLD WORLD, 

INVITES THE NEW 

TO PIOUS EMULATION 

IN THE CAUSE OF OUR COMMON PATRONESS. 



•preface to tfje ^Translation 

'"FHE present Tercentenary Jubilee which the 
* sodalities of the Blessed Virgin Mary enjoy- 
by a special privilege of His Holiness, Pope Leo 
XIII., induced Father Louis Delplace, S. J., to 
compile the historical sketch of which we offer 
this English translation. 1 The little volume that 
has thus sprung into existence is at once a dutiful 
tribute to Her under whose auspices and protec- 
tion the splendid achievements recorded in its 
pages were made possible, and a statement of 
facts that, together with a mass of incidental 
information, are of interest to all who would 
rightly estimate the strength and influence of the 
sodalities in the past three centuries. Besides, 
it contains an indirect exhortation to the faithful 
of our day, that they increase the fervor and con- 
tinue the extension of the venerable institution 
which has so long verified the scriptural maxim: 
M Good things continue with their seed, their pos- 
terity are a holy inheritance." The trophies of 

1 Histoire des Congregations de ia Sainte Vierge. par le Pere L. 
Delplace, S. J. Souvenir du Jubile, 1584-1884. Imprimerie du 
Saint-Augustin : Desclee, de Brouwer et Cie., Lille et Bruges. 

v 



vi preface to tfje translation 

the ancestors should arouse their descendants to 
still greater successes. May there not be some 
present necessity for heeding this exhortation, if 
not in the point of numbers, perhaps, in the 
breadth of the work ? May not the spirit of 
some sodalities be contemplative rather than ac- 
tive — ascetical to the detriment of its apostolic 
character ? 

It is to be regretted that the space which Father 
Delplace allots to sodalities outside of Europe is 
rather contracted. Those of the United States 
alone might absorb an important chapter, and 
present large and edifying statistics. The devout 
client of the Immaculate who, before the end of 
the Jubilee year, would gather the materials for 
a sketch of the sodalities of the Union, to serve 
as an appendix to this history, would himself most 
worthily honor his Patroness and foster devotion 
to her in others. 

The translation is the product of a combined 
effort made by a group of ladies, who are mem- 
bers of a sodality of Enfants de Marie. If their 
ready and successful zeai be an index of the 
spirit that prevails throughout the sodalities, the 
speedy diffusion of this memorial volume with its 
consequent good is assured. 



dTontcnta 



INTRODUCTION 

PAGE 

THE SODALITIES OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN ... 9 



BOOK I 

THE FIRST SODALITIES (1563-1584) " 

CHAP. 

I. SODALITIES AT ROME BEFORE 1584 14 

II. THE FIRST SODALITIES OUTSIDE OF ROME . 26 

1. The Sodality at Paris 32 

2. The Sodality at Douay 38 

3. The Sodalities at Cologne and in Germany . . 42 

4. The Sodalities in Bayaria 50 

\ The Sodality of Fribourg 54 

57 



6. The Sodalities at Lie^e and in the Netherlands, 



APPENDIX — Bull of Gregory XIII. , Granting Special 
Indulgences to the Sodality of Milan, at the 
Request of St. Charles Borromeo 64 



BOOK II 

THE SODALITIES FROM 1584 TO THE SUPPRESSION 

OF THE SOCIETY OF JESUS IN 1773 .... 68 

CHAP. 

I. CANONICAL INSTITUTION OF THE SODALI- 
TIES 68 



viii (Contents 



CHAP. PAGE 

II. DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION OF THE 

SODALITIES 7 6 

III. EXTENSION OF THE SODALITIES, ESPECIALLY 

IN THE BELGIAN PROVINCES 85 

IV. THE SODALITIES IN THE COLLEGES .... 95 
V. THE SODALITIES OUTSIDE THE COLLEGES . 107 

VI. SODALITIES OF PRIESTS 119 

VII. EXAMPLES OF HOLINESS IN THE SODALITIES, 128 
VIII. PERSECUTIONS AND ENCOURAGEMENTS . . 143 

BOOK III 
THE SODALITIES IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, 157 

CHAP. 

I. THE SODALITIES FROM THE SUPPRESSION 
OF THE SOCIETY OF JESUS UNTIL ITS RE- 
STORATION IN 1814 .157 

II. THE EXTENSION OF THE SODALITIES SINC^ 

1814 170 

III. SODALITIES OF STUDENTS 187 

IV. SODALITIES OF MEN . . 207 

V. IMPORTANCE OF SODALITIES IN OUR DAY . 225 

APPENDIX— Brief of His Holiness Leo XIII. , Granting 
to all the sodalities of the blessed vlrgin the 
Favor of a Jubilee, on the Occasion of the Three 
Hundredth Anniversary of their Canonical In- 
stitution by Gregory XIII 236 



INTRODUCTION 

SHje Srtalitiea of tlje Btaseti Ftrgm 

1563-1884 

/^N the fifth of December, 1884, three hundred 
^-^ years will have elapsed since the day when 
the Apcstolic See confirmed and instituted canon- 
ically the work of the Sodality of the Blessed 
Virgin. Though the Sociality of the Roman Col- 
lege, established by Gregory XIII. in advance of 
all the rest, cannot celebrate its three hundredth 
anniversary in gladness, but must mingle tears of 
grief with the sweet memories of its origin, as it 
did a century ago ; yet the children of Mary 
must not pass over with indifference the mem- 
orable date of this third centennial jubilee. Sev- 
eral sodalities in Alsace and Bavaria have lately 
celebrated the three hundredth anniversary of 
their foundation ; and the festival at Fribourg 
in 188 1 was marked by a magnificence and devo- 
tion that won general admiration. The memory 
of their canonical affiliation to the Sodality of 

9 



io Entrotmctton 



the Roman College cannot fail to arouse in them 
a renewal of fervor. 

We hope that the sodalities now so numerous 
in the ' Catholic world will be interested in the 
historical sketch offered to them in these modest 
pages. It will give them details concerning the 
work of the clients of Mary, unimportant, no 
doubt, in the eyes of the world, but calculated to 
arouse a feeling of joy and rightful pride in the 
hearts of faithful sons of the Church, and espe- 
cially of devout sodalists. They will trace the 
spirit of the socialities and gather up blessed 
memories of an illustrious past, they will feel 
fresh courage to show themselves worthy of those 
who have gone before them, and perhaps some 
zealous servants of Mary may arise, eager to 
realize the aim of their spiritual union, and add 
good works and devotion, for the glory of God 
and the honor of her whom they have chosen 
for their special' Patroness. 



Book I 

3Tfje Jirst Sodalities of tfje Blessrti Fftgm 

1563 -1584 

THE Middle Ages produced a great number of 
* associations, which under the name of confra- 
ternity, third order, or guild, gathered around the 
convent or parish church, the faithful of every 
rank and condition. 

"Whoever," says an English author, 1 "can 
separate himself from the nineteenth century, and 
read the historv of the fourteenth bv the lisrht of 
that period, will allow that confraternities were a 
powerful element of organization for all that was 
just and upright : law, morals, civilization, and, we 
may add, all the higher virtues, found in them val- 
uable support." 

The Society of Jesus, raised up by Providence 
to combat the false Reformation of the sixteenth 
century, understood from the beginning the power 
of organization to promote works of piety and 

1 Richard Howlett, 1882, :i Monumenta Franciscana,'* Roll Se- 
ries, vol. II., Preface, p. xxvii. 



12 STfje JHrst SoUaltttes of tfje iSlessetr Virgin 

Christian charity. In the year 1554, Saint Igna- 
tius encouraged Father Salmeron to establish, in 
the city of Naples, a sodality, whose members 
proposed to restore, by their example, the habit 
of frequent communion. 1 At Messina, Father Pe- 
ter Domenech instituted, during the holy founder's 
life, the sociality of the Holy Name of Jesus, 2 for 
the extirpation of blasphemy, and it extended 
into every country of the globe. Various other 
associations were founded under Jesuit influence, 
at Valencia, Messina, and Rome. 3 The principal 
aim of all was to restore to vigor the habit of 
frequenting the sacraments, and to organize aid 
for the poor and sick. But none of these insti- 
tutions assumed the proportions attained by the 
socialities of the Blessed Virgin. 

Let us study their beginnings and the spirit that 
nerved them in the earliest period of their exis- 
tence. The history of the Company, by Orlandini 
and his successors, the Annual Letters of the 
Society of Jesus, printed at Rome ever since the 
year 1581, and other works or documents from 

1 "Historia Societatis Jesu," 1554, 36. This work, begun by 
Orlandini, and continued by Sacchini and others, is divided into 
parts, and subdivided into books. Each book corresponds to the 
history of a complete year; it is enough to indicate the year and 
number. 

2 H. S., 1554, 72. . ■ - 

3 H. S., 1554, 71 ; 1555, 17 ; 1558, 86. 



£f)e Jtrst BotJah'ttcs of tijc Blessco Firgm 13 

which we shall give faithful quotations, are the 
sources of our information. The reader will let 
us give in detail the early portion of the history 
of the sodalities ; for, the origin of an institution 
is always interesting. The fruits produced by 
the sodalities in the first twenty years of their 
existence, and the remarkable sanctity of the men 
who helped to found them, seem to us to deserve 
especial attention. 



i4 &ty &oiialtttes of tfje iSlessefc Virgin 



CHAPTER I 

£fje Sodalities of tfje Blesseti Uirgin at Eome before tfje 
gear 1584 

THE sodalities took form and organization in 
* the colleges of the Company of Jesus, and 
from thence they spread throughout the world, 
diffusing a salutary influence among all classes of 
society. 

The foundation is usually attributed to the 
piety of a young Belgian Jesuit, a professor in the 
Roman College. It is true that in 1562, a devout 
sodality existed at Perugia among the pupils of 
the college of the Society. 1 But it does not ap- 
pear to have been instituted especially in honor 
of the Mother of God, nor do we find in it any 
characteristic organization. Father John Bourg- 
hois 2 attests in 1620, that the students had formed 
pious societies in honor of Mary ; but they en- 
joyed no peculiar privileges, and their members 
belonged to the confraternities of the Holy 

1 H. S. 1562, 17. 

2 Soc. Jesu Maris . . . sacra . . . auct. J. Bourghesio, S. J., C. 
14. De Bono Sodalitatis Partheniae, of the same author, chap. I. 



&t Ifcomc before tfje gear 1584 



Rosary. The Sicilian Jesuits claim for Father 
Sebastian Cabarasius the honor of having in- 
augurated the sodalities of the Blessed Virgin. 1 
However that may be, the sodalitv at Rome 
served as a model for all the rest, and drew up 
definite rules which were approved later by the 
Holy See. 

John Leonius 2 came from Liege ; he was re- 
ceived into the Society by St. Ignatius in 1550, 
and our holy founder, so say the annals of the 
Order, formed a favorable judgment of him, which 
a long career served only to confirm. After com- 
pleting his first studies in literature and philosophy, 
he became a teacher of grammar at the Roman 
College. His zeal inspired him with a desire to 
develop in his young pupils a love of prayer and 
spiritual reading ; and with this aim he used to 
join with them in a few devout exercises at the 
close of the evening classes. These young people 
became models for the whole college ; and other 
pupils from the lower classes, commonly called 
grammar and the humanities, 3 joined the pupils 

1 Annales Provincial Sicilian S. J., up to the year 1605. 

2 Fisen, S. J., Flores Ecclesiae Leodiensis : Litters Annuae S. J. 
1584, Taurin. Colleg. No document gives the true name of 
Leonius. We find the Latinized name Leonius ; F. Damiens 
writes Leonis, and the translator gives us Leon and Leonis. 
Tableau raccourci. Tournai, 1642, p. 184 and p. 428. 

3 Rhetoric was considered as belonging to the higher studies. 



1 6 GHfje £ Dualities of tfje BUsseti Utrgm 

of Father Leonius. 1 In the year 1563 they 
formed the habit of meeting every evening in one 
of the recitation rooms, where a simple altar had 
been erected, to recite a few prayers and listen to 
a short selection from some spiritual book. On 
Sundays and festivals they chanted vespers in 
addition to their usual exercises. This incipient 
work soon assumed the character of a real 
sodality. 

It was in 1564 s that .these young students to 
the number of seventy, carefully chosen from the 
Roman College, placed themselves under the 
special protection of the Blessed Virgin, and 
drew up their first set of rules. They were sub- 
stantially as follows : The sodalists proposed, as 
their aim, progress in piety and in literary pur- 
suits. Every week they went to confession, to 
purify their hearts from the least stain and to be- 
come more pleasing to their Immaculate Patron- 
ess ; every month, at least, they received the holy 
eucharist; every day they went to mass and said 
either the rosary, or certain prayers from the 
manual of the sodality; at the close of the 
day's studies, before leaving the college, they 
made a quarter of an hour's meditation, and for 
fifteen minutes more pondered over their good reso- 
lutions. On Sunday, after chanting vespers and 

1 H. S. 1563, 7. 



&t 3&ome before trje gear 1584 17 

listening to a short instruction from the father 
director, they went to the hospitals to console the 
sick, or performed some other work of charity. 
A prefect and twelve other officers shared the 
duty of assisting their young companions with 
advice, and a father of the Society presided at all 
the exercises. 

Such, according to Sacchini, were the rules that 
directed the sodality in the beginning, and he 
adds that, with few variations, they are still ob- 
served. The great advantage of these meetings, 
remarks the same author, was that, by a mutual 
union in zeal and piety, the members avoided 
dangerous companionship, and escaped one of the 
most perilous temptations of youth. Experience 
soon proved it to be a work inspired by grace for 
the advancement of study, as well as for progress 
in virtue. The children of Mary became distin- 
guished everywhere in both connections among 
their fellow-students. Nothing assists study so 
much as piety, and, on the other hand, youth, ex- 
posed to the fascination of pleasure, and to all 
sorts of temptations, finds a powerful support in 
literary studies which captivate mind and imagin- 
ation with innocent enjoyments, and leave little 
leisure for idleness and evil suggestions. More- 
over, the Mother of Divine Grace, of course, 
protected her privileged children with tender 



1 8 GTfje tonalities of tfje BlessetJ l T irgin 

solicitude, and obtained for them the choicest 
favors. 

The beginnings of the Sodality were modest, 
but, considering its development and first fruits, 
we have the testimony of souls devoted to Mary 
and capable of understanding the graces and bless- 
ings that the Holy Virgin poured down upon the 
young Jesuit's enterprise. The angelic Stanislaus 
Kostka, who expressed the secret of his love for 
Mary in those tender words, " She is my mother ; " 
the venerable Jacob Rem, whom we shall find 
distinguishing himself by zeal for the sodalities ; 
Claudius Aquaviva, known later as the great pro- 
moter of the work, and many other servants of 
Mary, added distinction to the noviciate of the 
Company of Jesus about that time, 1566-1567. 
No doubt, in their spiritual conversations, they 
interchanged consoling tidings of the work done 
at the Roman College, and the hopes founded on 
the growing enterprise. 

Meanwhile, Father Leonius was sent to Paris, 
where we find him in 1569, 1 devoted to the 
spiritual interests of the Roman troops sent 
by Pius V. to Charles IX., during the religious 
wars. But the influence exercised by the so- 
dalities was so salutary that no one dreamed of 
letting the pious teacher's work languish. It 

1 Fisen., op. cit. 



&1 ftome bzlaxc tlje gear 1584 19 

was, indeed, now fully developed, and a second 
sodality was thought necessary, in the Roman 
College, reserved for pupils over eighteen years 
of age ; 1 the same who, six years earlier, had 
given to the sodality its first humble initiation. 

The work being founded for the promotion of 
belles-lettres as well as of devotion, it soon pro- 
duced a very important result. In 1569, the 
students of the Roman College in rhetoric, philoso- 
phy, and theology formed the first Accidentia men- 
tioned in the history of the colleges of the 
Company. 2 It was placed under the benevolent 
patronage of the Cardinal of Augsburg, one of 
most devoted protectors of the Order founded by 
St. Ignatius. These college academies, which 
have given an effective stimulus to literary studies 
among the pupils, therefore owe their origin to 
the sodality of Oar Lady. The traditions of the 
Society record this fact, and the Ratio Studio- 
rum, printed at Rome in 1585, decided, as a general 
rule of the Accidentia, that only pupils already 
received into the sodality of the Blessed Virgin 
should be admitted to these additional literary 
exercises. 3 

In the following year the academy of the sociality 
proposed to give, in proof of their literary progress, 
a representation of a religious drama, " The Procli- 

1 H. S. 1569. 18. 2 h. S. 1569. 49. 3 Reg. Acad., 2. 



20 &f)e Sotoalttttg of tfje Blcggrti Ftrgttt 

gal Son." But, not having sufficient space for the 
exhibition, they asked to be allowed to use the 
great hall of the German College, 1 and were 
prevented from executing their design by the not 
very generous rivalry of its students. 

Soon after this event both the sodality and the 
academy were adopted by the Germans themselves, 
and a more noble emulation was the result. Three 
sodalities w r ere established among the 135 stu- 
dents of this seminary in 1574; and in this same 
year, we find a memorial of a literary celebration 
in both colleges. The German College gave a 
celebrated tragedy by F. Stephen Tuccio ; " Chris- 
tus Judex," and the numerous spectators re- 
ceived so vivid an impression of the Last Judg- 
ment, that their piety was even more satisfied than 
their curiosity. The sodalist academicians of 
the Roman College solemnly celebrated the re- 
ception of Cardinals Alciati and Paleotti. The 
former had accepted the office of honorary presi- 
dent after the Cardinal of Augsburg; the latter 
had established a sodality and academy in the 
Jesuit College, at Bologna, according to the rules 
of the Roman College, and he was naturally in- 
terested in the young academicians at Rome 
whom he wished to honor with a visit. Superb 
decorations, emblems, speeches and poems, all, in 

ih. S. 1570, 9. 



&t Monte before tfje gear 1384 21 

short that could express devotion to Mary, and 
gratitude towards a benefactor, were contributed 
to celebrate the visit of these august prelates. 

These literary exhibitions were afterwards given 
in regular succession ; the members of the four 
socialities that flourished at the Roman College 
in 1 58 1, dividing among themselves the four 
principal feasts of the Blessed Virgin to honor 
their patroness with poems and works of oratory. 
On the Feast of the Annunciation, 1 the foreign 
Jesuits sent to Rome from various provinces to 
elect a new general, attended one of these public 
sessions, and gave their approbation to an institu- 
tion uniting so wisely devotion to Mary with love 
of literature. We can have no doubt that the 
excellent results they saw on this occasion, led to 
the foundation of sodalities in their respective 
provinces. 

Active and devoted piety, with progress in 
study, are the principal aim and object of the 
Sodality, as the history of these early years attests. 
If, on solemn occasions, literature was sometimes 
most conspicuous, more often still was Christian 
charity practised. The sodalists of the Roman 
College united in the purchase of a great number 
of articles, during the Holy Week of i574, 2 for dis- 
tribution among the poor in Rome and in the 

1 Litt. Ann. 1581, Sem. Rom. 2 H. S. 1574, 9. 



22 2Hf)e ^totalities of tfje Blesseti Utrgtn 

Campagna, and for the promotion of devotion to 
their good Mother. Many of them belonged to 
noble families ; they penetrated to the most 
squalid quarters to instruct the ignorant in their 
religious duties, and to bring them to make their 
Easter confession either at the college church or 
at the professed house. 

About this time, and perhaps after the departure 
of Leonius, Claudius Aquaviva, while pursuing his 
course of philosophy and theology, directed the 
Roman sodalities with characteristic zeal. 1 Three 
young men of illustrious birth, who w T ere elevated 
in after-life to the dignity of cardinal, aided in 
developing and strengthening the work ; these 
were Marianus Perbenedetti, Augustine Valerio, 
and Octavius Bandini. Ciacconio 2 attributes to 
them the honor of having founded the Annunziata 
of the Roman College during their course of 
philosophy. 

Three Generals of the Society encouraged the 
sodalities. St. Francis Borgia, 3 in particular, ani- 
mated their fervor by having engraved, in 1569, 

1 H. S. 1575, 27- Aquaviva entered the Company of Jesus in 
1567, aged 24 years; remained at the Roman College until 1575 ; 
after governing the provinces of Naples and Rome, was chosen 
General in 158 1. 

2 Histories Pontificuni Romanorum et Cardinalium. . . . Romae, 
1677, 4th vol., p. 195. 

3 H. S. 1569, 296. 



It Eomc before trjc gear 15 84 23 

the first copies of the portrait of the Blessed 
Virgin attributed to St. Luke. 1 This engraving 
was distributed everywhere, and, two years later, 
excited the devotion of the servants of Mary in 
the college of Lima in South America, 2 and 
led to the establishment of a sodality in that 
city. The sodalists owe to the piety of the same 
saint, a custom that he had practised in his own 
home, and afterwards introduced, for the good of 
souls, at the court of King John III. of Portugal. 3 
At the beginning of each month, during one of 
the ordinary meetings, each member took at the 
foot of the crucifix, a card recommending a parti- 
cular virtue to practise in imitation of some saint 
whom he was to take as his special patron. This 
devout habit, as F. Bourghois and F. Crasset 4 
tell us, became common in all the socialities of 
the Blessed Virgin, and aided wonderfully in the 
cultivation of Christian virtues. 

We do not know in detail the spiritual favors 
granted by the Holy See to the Roman sodalities. 

1 Vide "La Vierge de Saint Liic, v Abbe Anselme Milochan. 
Paris, Perisse, 1862. "Das Gnadsnbild der Mater ter admirabilis 
von Ingolstadt," Franz Hattler, S. J., Fribourg, Herder, 1880; and 
the recent work of Father Garrucci " Storia dell' Arte Christiana," 
vol. III., 13. 

2 H. S. 1571,227. 3 ibid. 1558, 49. 

4 Bourghois, op. cit. chap. XXIII., p. 326 ; Crasset, Des Cong, 
de Notre Dame, chap. II. 



24 &i)Z &o\}d\itit& of tfje IBIessctJ Utrgttt 

The sovereign pontiff, Gregory XIII., who suc- 
ceeded to the pontifical throne in 1572, records in 
his bull, " Omnipotentis Dei," that he wished to 
encourage the members of the sodality by giving 
them special indulgences. But these were only 
the first marks of approbation, and far more sub- 
stantial advantages gave to the work of Father 
Leonius, later, an importance that the humble re- 
ligious had never dared to anticipate. He thought 
simply of helping the scholars confided to his 
care by obedience, to lead a devout life ; but in 
imitation of his foundation in the Roman College, 
we find everywhere groups of devoted sons of Mary 
organized into sodalities on a uniform plan, and 
authoritatively recognized by the sovereign pon- 
tiff. If he never enjoyed in this world the sight of 
this definite organization, at least he had the satis- 
faction of knowing, through the first annual letters 
of the Company, printed in 1583, that the sodali- 
ties of the Blessed Virgin already existed in many 
colleges. In the very year when the bull of the 
foundation of the sodalities appeared, this devoted 
servant of Mary died at Turin, 1 and received the 
reward of his zeal in propagating devotion to Our 
Lady. He was a humble laborer in the Lord's 
vineyard, and devoted to the poor and sick. He 
was remembered in the hospital at Turin, taking 

l Litt. Ann. 1584, Coll. Taurin. 



£t Eotne before tije gear 1584 25 

care of an incurable sufferer, whose wounds were 
so offensive that no one else dared to go near him. 
Leonius interested himself in this poor creature, 
and won a victory so complete over nature that he 
overcame all repugnance and could hardly be per- 
suaded to leave this work of mercy. It is the 
only trait of his charity handed down by the annals 
of the company for the consolation and edification 
of the children of Mary, who were to be distin- 
guished, like their founder, by works of mercy and 
charity. 

While the sodalities of Our Lady were develop- 
ing at Rome under Leonius and Aquaviva, they 
were spreading throughout various countries of 
Europe. We will follow their fortunes in France, 
Germany, and the Netherlands. 



26 &{)£ ^otialttteg nf tfje Blesseti Utrgm 



CHAPTER II 

CHfjc JFtrst ^otialttfes ©uisifce of i^otne 

F^OR half a century heresy had been spreading 
* far and wide, and already menaced France, 
Germany, and the Low Countries with religious 
revolt. The Church, in trying to avert the scourge, 
turned her attention, principally, to the education 
of the young ; considering the organization of 
seminaries, according to decrees of the Council 
of Trent, with the foundation of numerous col- 
leges, and a general reform of methods of teach- 
ing in the universities, to be the most efficacious 
means to prevent propagation of the evil. Through 
the education of youth, the great w 7 ork of Catholic 
Reform was to be inaugurated and completed, 
and the sodalities were destined to take an im- 
portant share in this. 

One of the earliest and most zealous promoters 
of this institution in our countric, Father Costerus, 
will tell us the aim proposed in establishing so- 
dalities of the Blessed Virgin. 

Francis Costerus was born at Malines, in 1531, 



E\)t JFtrst Bo&altties outstoe of ftotnc 27 

and was received into the Society of Jesus, at 
twenty-one years of age, by St. Ignatius himself. 1 
While still very young, he was sent from Rome to 
Cologne, 2 to teach in the college of the Three 
Crowns, which the authorities of the city wished 
to confide to the care of the Company. He was 
a distinguished professor of Holy Scripture, a 
master of novices, 3 and a formidable preacher 
against heresy, displaying in that famous city such 
energetic zeal as to earn the surname of the 
Scourge of Lutheranism. 4 After governing the 
province of Belgium for six years, 5 he was suc- 
cessively made rector of the colleges of Bruges 6 
and Cologne, 7 superior of the Rhenish 8 province, 
and, later, of the Belgian. 9 He was especially 
distinguished in the annals of his order by his 
devout and touching trust in Mary, shown in his 
numerous writings, and proved again arid again in 
the course of his long and holy career. In 1617, 10 
when he was giving last words of counsel to a 
noble youth, Charles de Grobbendonck, whom he 
was taking to the noviciate of Malines, Costerus, 
then eighty-six years old, gave him the same 

1 Societas Jesu Mariae Sacra, chap. 19. 2 h. S., 1556, 26. 
3 Ibid., 1557, 26. 4 ibid., 1565, 51. 

5 Ibid., 1573,97. 6 ibid., t 5 74. 60. 

< Ibid., 1575, 127. 8 ibid., 1580, 179. 

9 Ibid., 1585, 128. 
1° Nadasi, "Annates Mariani/' n. 1112, p. 516. 



28 &ty Sotoalittes of tfje BlessetJ Firgin 

advice that he himself had received, so long ago, 
from St. Ignatius : " My son," he said, "be always 
humble and obedient, and you will find joy and 
happiness. May the Blessed Virgin obtain this 
triple blessing for you, and preserve your health 
as she has mine." The good old man added : 
"When I was leaving Rome, and St. Ignatius 
recommended to me joy of the soul, I asked my- 
self, in some anxiety, how I could preserve it if 
sickness should force me to be unemployed ? But 
the Blessed Virgin gave me to understand that if 
I would be faithful to obedience and humility she 
would take care of my health. Now remember 
that she has kept her promise, and that if you ever 
hear that Father Costerus is an invalid, do not 
believe a word of it ; it will be a lie, and an insult 
to our good Mother. My first sickness and my 
death will tome very near together." The pre- 
diction was verified in 1619, after a career of more 
than seventy years consecrated to the service of 
Holy Church. 

According to the testimony of F. Bourghois, 
Costerus tried to found everywhere sodalities of 
the Blessed Virgin. Not only was he a most 
ardent propagandist, but he devoted his pen to 
the service of this work ; the various writings that 
he left behind him in praise of the sodalities give 
us details of their history that we find nowhere else. 



Zfyz JFtrst ^otialttus mitst&e of Borne 29 

It was in 1576, according to Sotwell, that he 
edited, under the title " Bulla Professionis Fidei," 
a little work, which was reprinted many times, and 
usually, since 1586, under a new title, "Libellus So- 
dalitatis Beatae Mariae Virginis," 1 a manual of the 
sodality. Three other works of piety or contro- 
versy, published by the same author for the use 
of the sodalists at Cologne, Douay, and Antwerp, 
enable us to appreciate the spirit of these institu- 
tions in the provinces of the North. 

" To prevent the encroachment of error among 
the rising generation and secure to them a Chris- 
tian education," writes Costerus in the preface 
to the " Libellus Sodalitatis," " in this lies the 
salvation of Catholic countries. Now," he adds, 
' ; it is not difficult to keep young people in the 
path of duty while they are obedient to their 
teachers; but their souls must be so penetrated 
with piety and fired with divine love, that they 
will voluntarily devote themselves to study and to 
morality, and in after-life use for the good of their 
neighbor the virtues acquired during their college 
course. Therefore the Company believed," he 
continues, "that in addition to frequenting the 

1 De Backer in his " Bibliographic des Ecrivains de la Com- 
pagnie de Jesus," cites eleven Latin editions, one German transla- 
tion, and three Flemish ; seven French editions under the titles, 
" Livre de la Compagnie, . . . de la Confrerie, . . . de la Congre- 
gation/' 



30 tCfje SoUalitieg of tfje Blesseti Firgitt 

sacraments and daily attendance at mass, it 
would be well for the pupils to be united by com- 
mon rules in a voluntary association, where they 
would learn to guide themselves, and be drawn to 
a devout Christian life by bonds voluntarily 
assumed, learning 'by force of example and 
mutual encouragement to make public profession 
of piety and Christianity. It seemed well to 
place this association under the protection and 
patronage of the Blessed Virgin. . . . The parti- 
sans of the Reformation invariably attack the 
Holy Virgin, who has overcome all heresies. It 
is not without reason that the serpent tries to 
wound the foot that crushed his head, and that 
the dragon pursues the woman who has driven 
the prince of this world from his domain. . . . 
She was therefore chosen patroness of the sodal- 
ity that she might take care of the young people 
and show herself their sovereign and mother, by 
granting them success in developing their talents, 
a will disposed to virtue, and courage to help 
their neighbor." Then, having enumerated the 
countries especially consecrated to the Blessed 
Virgin, citing in particular the dioceses of Cam- 
bray, Tournay, Arras, and Tongres, he continues, 
"The most holy mother of Jesus Christ, who has 
taken so many nations under her protection, 
should be the patroness of youth, for the very 



£rjc .first ^otultttcs outsifcc of ftome 31 

reason that the heretics try to crush the glory of 
Mary. Luther and the Centuriators of Magde- 
burg place her below the most infamous beings. 
Adopting the opinion of an impious emperor, 
Constantine Copronymus, they admit that though 
she was great, inasmuch as she bore in her womb 
the Son of God, yet she afterwards became sub- 
ject to vice and sin like the most vulgar sinners. 
Christians — and, above all, young students — must 
not tolerate such blasphemies. They must avenge 
these outrages ; they must honor and venerate the 
Mother of God and Queen of mankind." 

These few extracts from the preface of the 
Libel lus show clearly that under the direction of 
F. Costerus the socialities were principally directed 
against the heresy which afflicted the church in 
our countries. The prefaces of the smaller works 
dedicated by the same author to the socialists of 
Douay and Antwerp breathe the same ideas as the 
."Libellus Sodalitatis." In confirmation of our 
impression we will add two remarks. First, we 
read at the beginning of these various works of 
F. Costerus, the profession of faith formulated by 
the Council of Trent against Protestant errors, 1 

1 A public profession of faith, in accordance with the proposal 
of Blessed Canisius, had been made obligatory throughout Italy 
for all teachers. (H. S. 1564, 40.) This custom, introduced in 
the University of Ingolstadt (lb. 1568, 130) in spite of eager oppo- 
sition, was adopted in most universities, greatly to the advantage of 
Catholic education. 



32 Cfje &0tialittcss of tfje Blesscti Ftrgin 

and all socialists, from the time of their admission, 
were obliged to give public adherence to this 
creed. Secondly, the act of consecration uttered 
even in our own day, by those who are admitted 
to the socialities, and which we find in identical 
terms at the beginning of the " Libellus Sodali- 
tatis," seems to have been drawn up as a protest 
against the insults directed by heretics against the 
Mother of God ; the servants of Mary promising 
" never to allow their inferiors to say or do any- 
thing contrary to her honor. 

To avert the scourge of heresy, revive the 
Catholic faith by devotion to Mary, lead back 
nations to the frequent reception of the sacra- 
ments, and preserve the young especially from the 
seduction of error and make them apostles by 
word and example, — such were the aims and ad- 
vantages offered by the socialities in countries 
menaced by Protestantism. 

i. The Sodality at Paris. 

Sacchini tells us that the first sodality was that 

of Douay ; 1 but F. Costerus states positively that 

the sociality of the college of Clermont at Paris 2 

w r as already in a flourishing condition and bearing 

1 H. S. 1573, 96. Nadasi. op. cit. n. 240, says it was the first one 
affiliated to that of Rome. 

2 Liber Sodalitatis, preface. 



£fje JFtrst cSotJalttirs outsitic of &omc 33 

good fruit when he himself established the one at 
Douay. It even appears to have owed its exist- 
ence to F. Leonius, judging by the words of F. 
Fisen in his " Fleurs de l'Eglise de Liege ; " for he 
says " In the capital of France he propagated 
devotion to Mary with the same ardor and with 
equal success, beginning always with young peo- 
ple." From the beginning, this sodality had a 
good share of the difficulties that the University 
always brought upon the Society : as we shall 
see in a letter addressed in 1575 to the Sovereign 
Pontiff, Gregory XIII., by F. Claude Mathieu, 
Provincial of France. 1 After mentioning the 
calumnies and persecutions directed against the 
teaching of the Jesuits by certain doctors of 
the Sorbonne, imbued with Calvinistic opinions, 
F. Claude Mathieu continues thus : " Why should 
they dissuade men from frequenting the sacra- 
ments ? Why does Dr. Pelletier, in public and 
private discourse, inveigh against the sodality of 
the Blessed Virgin, approved by the Holy See, and 
productive of great benefit to the pupils of our 
schools ? Why will they not admit to the Sor- 
bonne those who are members of this devout so- 
ciality ? " These complaints plainly show that 
heresy looked with an evil eye on an institution 

1 Maldonat et 1'Universite de Paris, par le P. Prat S. J. pieces 
justificatives, p. 597. 



34 £?J* ^ooalittes of tfjc Bicssco Utrgtn 

consecrated to devotion to Our Lady, and to the 
practice cf a Christian life. But if it could not 
please the partisans of error, it realized none the 
less great good. Thanks to the good example of 
the sodalists, piety increased among the pupils 
of the college at Clermont, and Catholic families 
sent thither more children than it could receive. 

It was about the time of this period of persecution 
that the young Francis de Sales, destined by his 
father to the college of Navarre, by entreaties won 
permission to go to that of Clermont, to learn, as 
he said, the sciences and the road to Heaven 
both together, and avoid the dangers from which 
his virtue recoiled. He was only thirteen years old 
when, in 1580, he began the course of rhetoric. His 
piety gained for him admission to the sodality, 
where for six years he was distinguished for his 
zeal and good example. He was judged worthy 
of the first rank in it, was chosen for the posts of 
assistant and of prefect, the highest in the so- 
dality, and was re-elected again and again when 
his time of government service expired. In- 
deed Francis looked upon these charges as an 
apostolate, and labored with all his soul for 
the good of the members of this fervent so- 
ciety, speaking to them in public and private, 
and helping them with good advice. He took 
no less pains with youths who wished to enter 



Z\)t jfirst ^otialttfes otttsttic of Sformc 35 

the sodality, and led them to look on their 
admission as a special favor, for which they were 
to prepare by the means he pointed out. Thus 
the association was always recruited with ex- 
emplary subjects, and became from day to day 
more fervent. Everyone has read in the history 
of his life how the Blessed Virgin delivered him 
from a frightful temptation to despair that took 
possession of him while he was at Clermont, 1 when 
finding at the foot of the statue of Mary the 
" Remember, O most Holy Virgin Mary ! " he 
drew from that consoling prayer an unlimited con- 
fidence in the Mother of our Saviour. The holy 
prefect of the sodality must have exercised great 
influence over its members. The King of France, 
Henry III., one day visited these young students 
formed in part by his generous zeal, and listening 
to the prayer to the Blessed Virgin with which the 
school closed, said to the rector with a sense of 
consolation for the evils of heresy, " Thank God, 
at least these will never be heretics.'' 2 

While the sodality of Clermont was train- 
ing an illustrious servant of the Blessed Virgin 
and a great doctor of the church, a new one was 
forming which no doubt was even more dreaded 
by the reformers, on account of the influence of 

1 Vie de Saint Francois de Sales by Hamon, vol. I. chap. III. 

2 Litt. Ann. 1582, Domus et Coll. Paris. 



36 GTJje Sodalities of tfje iSlesseti Uirgirt 

its members. The penitents of the Annunciation 
of Our Lady, with the King for patron and the 
Cardinal de Bourbon for president, were instituted 
by F. Edmond Augier. 1 The profession of faith 
made by them on entering, their general statutes 
and those of " the second and strict rule," 
above all, the motives of the institution, give 
us an idea of the aim of that sodality. We give 
a few lines from it : 2 " It has pleased the king to 
honor this sodality of Our Lady for three reasons : 
first, that his majesty has always had a great de- 
votion to the Queen of Heaven ; . . . the other 
that our God has been so generous towards this 
poor world, destitute of all means of saving itself, 
that he has generously given his own son . . . 
we could not find a patron or model of all piety 
and liberality to the poor more attractive or of so 
heavenly generosity ; thirdly, it has been our com- 
mon hope to see some clay, in this kingdom, the 
death and overthrow of all the heresies, errors, 
and false opinions that distract it, through the 
ardent prayers of the Blessed Virgin, so that the 
church may sing, ' Gaude, Maria Virgo, cunctas 
haereses sola interemisti in universo mundo.' 
Every member shall hear mass every day, unless 

1 His life was written by Bailly ; De Backer Bibliographic 

2 Cimber, Archives curieuses de l'Histoire de France. 1st 
series, t. X. p. 442. 



Zi)t JFirst ^ofcalittea outsttfe of Home 37 

there be just cause to the contrary ; each shall 
promise that Gocl shall not be offended in his 
family ... he shall say daily the chaplet of Our 
Lady, or at least one decade ; ... he shall visit 
prisoners and get them to hear mass, preach to 
them, or engage for them a preacher ; console 
them, and if there be among them any who are 
condemned to death, not leave them until they 
are led from the prison to execution. The same 
applies to hospitals." 

The college of Clermont, so celebrated later 
under the name of Louis le Grand, produced 
more than ordinary good Christians. A con- 
f emporary wrote : x " As to the strictest religious 
houses, such as those of the Carthusians, Capu- 
chins, and Minims, it may be said with truth that 
'.he college at Paris is their common seminary. . . 
To this end, moreover, the sodality of Our Lady 
established in the said college, has greatly served. 
Here we find, in addition to a great number of 
young pupils, many doctors, prelates, councillors, 
advocates, and merchants. The exhortations are 
usually given by great theologians ; meditations 
penances, confessions, and communions are very 
frequent. The spirit of devotion is easily main- 
tained by means of high masses and vespers, with 

1 Carayon, Documents inedits concsrnant la Compagnie de 
jesus, t I 



$S Efje SoUalitteg of tfje BkssctJ Ftrgtn 

music and great solemnities on Sundays and holy 
days ; King Charles IX., King Henry III., the 
queens, princesses, bishops, and peers of the court 
of parliament, not disdaining to attend the little 
chapel of this great college." 

2. The Sodality at Douay. 

In 1569 F. Costerus, as provincial of Belgium, 
accepted the college of the Company of Jesus 
at Douay, 1 a foundation made by the Benedictines 
of Anchin. As he had nothing more at heart than 
confirming devotion to the Blessed Virgin, he 
founded there, in 1573, the first sodality in the 
Belgian province. It was approved by the Bishop 
of Arras, Francois Richardot, and about the year 
1 58 1 entered into a communication of privileges 
with the Sodality of the Annunciation, founded at 
the Roman College. 2 

The change wrought at once by this fervent so- 
ciety in the conduct of the pupils, their piety, their 
enthusiasm for study, the influence of its members 
on their companions, became evident to all. From 
that time most of the students, we are told, in a 
little work dedicated to them by the devout Jesuit, 
in 1587, approached the sacraments of penance 

1 Buzelin, " Societas Jesu Gallo-Belgica," 423. 

2 " De Vita et Laudibus Deiparae,'' by Costerus, preface, p. 22 ; a 
work reprinted in the Summa aurea of the Coll. Migne. 



Z\)t jFtrst ^ntoaltties outsttre of &omc 39 

and the eucharist every week, and labored ear- 
nestly for the salvation of souls. 

" By the grace of God and favor of the Virgin 
Mary," he adds, " many young men, who are mem- 
bers of this sodality, have already rendered im- 
portant services to the Christian religion, some in 
civil professions and others in the ecclesiastical 
state ; many have entered religion ; its fame and 
the fruits of salvation that it has produced are 
spread throughout Germany." Indeed, the Col- 
lege of Douay received youths from all the north- 
ern countries, so extensive was its reputation in a 
few years. 

Meantime persecution was let loose against the 
College of Anchin, and, after furnishing a refuge 
to the Jesuits expelled from Cambrai and Tournai, 
it was for a short time dispersed, in 1578, by a 
band of Protestant sectarians, in spite of the mag- 
istrates' efforts. Three weeks later, when it was 
reopened by the intervention of the university and 
civil authorities, six sons of the sodality fell vic- 
tims to their devotion in a time of pestilence. 
But the founder of the sodality of Douay might 
be consoled in these trials and losses when he 
learned, in 1582, 1 that out of the twenty-eight 
classes in theology, philosophy, and the humani- 
ties, thirty socialists, either priests or masters 

1 Litt. Ann., 1532, Coll. Duac. p. 219. 



40 Wqi ^otiaiitics oi tfje 33lrssetr Utrgtn 

of art, entered the Company at one time ; and 
when, four years later, he was provincial of 
Belgium, 1 and received the offer of thirty-three 
pupils of Douay to become sons of St. Ignatius, 
of whom he admitted only twenty-four. This was 
the reward of his zeal for the work of the sodali- 
ties ; for them it was the most precious favor that 
Mary can obtain from God for her children of 
predilection. In those unhappy times, when 
heresy menaced faith, Mary watched over that 
country, and multiplied religious and sacerdotal 
vocations among her devoted servants. The 
.clergy had been too few to resist error effectually. 
Among the six hundred students who went to 
the college of Douay at that time, 2 three sodali- 
ties were formed : two for pupils, and a third for 
the religious of the Abbey of Anchin. In the 
preface of the book that he dedicated to them, 3 
Costerus encouraged them to show their love to 
the Blessed Virgin, to maintain and diffuse devo- 
tion to her, in opposition to heretics, the con- 
temners of the Mother of Christ : "and because," 
said he, " among the prayers that the socialists 
•recite in honor of their patroness, the principal 
devotion is the one which is usually called the 
Rosary, consisting of five Paters and five Aves," 

l H. S. 1586, 60. 2 Litt. Ann., 1584. Coll. Duac. 

8 De vita et laudibus Deiparae, pref. p. 14. 



£fje jftrst Sotialih'es outside of 2ftome 41 

he placed at the beginning of his book twenty 
propositions communicated to him by the sodality 
of the Blessed Virgin at M aye nee, that they might 
learn to say these prayers with more devotion and 
defend them against the attacks of their enemies. 
These propositions consist in a forcible justifi- 
cation of the use of the rosary against heretics. 
The catechism of . Malines, of which the first edi- 
tion appeared in 1609, gives us in the nineteenth 
lesson a similar justification, a lasting proof of 
the absurd calumnies directed by the Protestant 
heresy against this holy exercise, perhaps, because 
it was too accessible to the piety of the poor and 
ignorant faithful. 

The work of Costerus is composed of fifty 
meditations on the virtues of the Virgin Mary. 
His is not the only testimony that we have of the 
habit that prevailed among fervent sodalists of 
consecrating some time each day to the solid and 
admirable practice of mental prayer. It is for 
their use that Scribani, . Busaeus, and Haineufve 
composed the books of meditation that were so 
often reprinted 1 and the popularity of which is 
attested by Boileau when he condemns in one of 

1 In the edition of 1629 (Douay), dedicated to Etienne Wer- 
ber, " episcopo Mysiensi, qui 28 annos praefuit sodalitati Mogun- 
tinae," the preface says : Post tot meditationes patrum S. J. . . . 
breviores vel longiores in par then iorum gratiam (quibus congrega- 
tions leges non semel hoc pium exercitium commendant.) . . . 



42 £J)e ^otialtties of tfjc iBlcsseti Utrgin 

his epistles the works of less fortunate authors, 
to — 

"... couvrir chez Thierry d'une feuille encor neuve 
Les meditations de Busee et d'Hameuve." 

3. The Sodalities at Cologne and in 
Germany. 
After Douay, Cologne enjoyed the benefit of 
F. Costerus' zeal. The college of the Three 
Crowns had irn 1575, more than six hundred 
pupils ; it had been cruelly tried by the premature 
death of its rector, Leonard Kessel, who with F. 
Jean Rhetius, and a house servant, was assassi- 
nated by a poor wretch attacked with insanity. 1 
The loss of so devoted a rector seemed irrepa- 
rable, unless by the return of the father who had 
inaugurated the school with him. Costerus was 
therefore recalled from Bruges, where he was 
organizing courses in the humanities with the 
generous aid of the Bishop Remi Drieux. 2 In 
the first year of his stay at Cologne he founded 
two sodalities at once, that of the Blessed Sacra- 
ment and that of the Blessed Virgin. 3 The latter 
was immediately approved by Gaspard Gropperus, 
the Papal Nuncio. 

ih.s. 1574,58. 

2 Notice historique sur Pancien college des Jesuites a Bruges, 
cb. ii. in the Annales de la Societe d } Emulation, t. xxxiv., 1884. 

3 lb. 1575, 127. 



Z\)t .first tonalities cutsttre of Eome 43 

After the diploma of foundation, come the prin- 
cipal rules for its government. 1 

1 st. This sodality is instituted in honor of the 
Blessed Virgin Mary, that the students, by attach- 
ing themselves to the most holy Mother of God 
with especial devotion, may receive from her a 
special assistance in their studies and conduct. 

2d. All must recite, before admission, the profes- 
sion of faith formulated by the Council of Trent, 
and be inscribed in the confraternity of the Ro- 
sary, in the church of the Friars-preachers. We 
desire this sodality to be, as it were, a section or 
member of that confraternity. 

3d. All the members will go to confession every 
week ; they will receive holy communion every 
month, and also on the festivals of the Blessed 
Virgin, namely, the Purification, the Annuncia- 
tion, the Visitation, the Assumption, the Nativity, 
and the Conception of Mary ; on the feasts of 
Easter, the Ascension, Pentecost, the Holv Sacra- 
ment, All Saints, and Christmas, unless their con- 
fessors find some objection. . Every day they will 
recite the chapter of the Blessed Virgin ; and 
moreover, on Sundays and the above-named festi- 
vals, and on the feasts of the Holy Apostles and 
of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, they will 

1 Reiffenberg S. J. Historia Provincial S. J. ad Rhenum, Man- 
tissa diplomatum, p. 53. 



44 G^js Sofcalttteg of tfje Blesseti Utrgttt 

recite the office of the Virgin, excepting those 
who are bound to say the great office. They will 
recite every morning the Ave Maris Stella, and in 
the evening the anthem, Salve Regina. 

5th. Let them learn to serve mass, and to ask 
of the prefect of the sodality, or of their con- 
fessor, the way to pray, make their confession, 
and receive Holy Communion. 

6th. They will avoid bad company, blasphemy, 
and evil conversations ; they will preserve modesty 
and courtesy for the edification of others, as be- 
comes devoted servants of the Blessed Virgin ; and 
those who are students will be zealous for the 
observance of the rules of the college. Anyone 
who behaves ill, after a third admonition, will be 
dismissed from the sodality. For this reason, 
and that the sodality may preserve its purity, no 
one will be admitted until he has been tested, 
and has given proofs of perseverance ; nor will he 
be retained if he should fall into a grievous fault. 

9th. The meetings will be held every Sunday, 
and on the Feasts of the Blessed Virgin ; matters 
will be treated that concern the good of the so- 
dality and of the members. 

The other rules give prayers to be recited for 
the sick and for the dead ; also the numerous in- 
dulgences attached to works of piety, to examina- 
tion of conscience, communions, etc. 



£J)c jFirst ^otialittes nutsi&e of ftome 45 

The history of the college of Cologne throws 
light on some customs peculiar to that sodality. 1 
Every month the socialists elected a prefect for 
each class, whose duty it was to reprove kindly 
anyone who had failed in his duties ; and in each 
hospitium, as the private houses were called where 
foreign students lived, they chose a censor, or 
tutor, to divide the hours of work, and watch 
over the conduct of his companions. On the first 
of every month, the members placed themselves 
under the protection of a saint whose virtues they 
were to study and imitate. 

Costerus took pleasure in seeing the rapid pro- 
gress that these young students made in literary 
proficiency as well as in piety, thanks to their 
mutual encouragement. To reward them and in- 
terest them still more, he edited in the following 
year (1576), the first book that was published for 
the sodalities of the Blessed Virgin. In it he ex- 
plained the duties of the sodalists, and pointed 
out various ways of putting their zeal in practice. 
At the beginning of the work we find the bull of 
Pius IV., and the profession of Catholic faith pre- 
scribed therein for doctors of theology and con- 
verted heretics. "This little work, 1 ' says the 
author, in a subsequent edition,' 2 " was exhausted 

1 Reiffenberg, op. cit., B. VII. . ch. i and 2. 

2 Libel. Sodal. ed. 1586, preface. 



46 3H)e ^Dualities of tije ISlesscti UirgtiT 

so soon, that it had to be reprinted many times 
and in various places, and translated into several 
languages. I was surprised, for I had only writ- 
ten it for our pupils, and in a rather careless style. 
However, my wdrk has proved attractive and use- 
ful, even to older persons, who say that it has 
been quite beneficial to them." 

The work of this zealous director received, in 
1577, the more important approbation of the sove- 
reign pontiff. In the diploma confirming the 
sodality of Cologne, Gregory XIII. granted an 
indulgence of twenty years to those who should 
inculcate any point of the instructions contained 
in the manual, such as the method of confession 
and examination of conscience, the manner of 
hearing mass, the meaning of the ceremonies of 
the Church, etc. 1 This was, of course, very en- 
couraging to the sodalists, whose zeal came to the 
aid of their teachers in reclaiming heretics and 
wavering Catholics. Their charitable practices, 
especially as regarded the faithful who had been 
seduced into error; the public recitation of the 
litany of the Blessed Virgin, their pilgrimages, — 
all, in short, that heresy treated as superstitious 
practices, — gave the more edification because 
their public profession of piety was united to an 
exemplary life. 

1 An ext. from this diploma, dated Sept. 10, 1577, is found at 
the beginning of the Libellus. 



Cijc JFivst Sooah'ttcs outside of Borne 47 

The work developed admirably at Cologne, and 
exercised so wide an influence that the preserva- 
tion of the Catholic faith in that famous city of 
the Rhine has been generally attributed to it. So 
Costerus himself testifies in his works. 1 It is 
true, as he tells us, that he received important aid 
from distinguished members of the clergy and 
from the Apostolic Nuncio, Barthelemi de Portia. 
" This prince of the church, who deserves our 
eternal gratitude," he writes, " inscribed himself 
and his whole household among the number of the 
sodalists. By the protection of the Blessed Vir- 
gin, their zeal inspired the city council with a 
generous determination to maintain the Catholic 
faith in its purity, in spite of the immense obsta- 
cles raised by the Lutherans, and in spite of the 
scandal caused by the apostasy of Archbishop 
Gebhard Truchses in 1583. This prelate tried in 
vain to carry his clergy with him into apostasy, 
and if he had succeeded, the Protestant princes 
of Germany would have " secured a plurality of 
votes, as they would have had four out of seven, 
beside that of the archbishop of Mayence, who 
seemed inclined towards that party." 2 The su- 
premacy of the Austrian House would then have 
merged into a Protestant House. A great num- 

1 Libellus Sodalitatis, Preface. 

2 Memoires de Mornay, II., 2S0. 



48 £f)c i&otfalittes of tfje BlesscU Utrgtn 

ber of priests enrolled themselves in the pious 
association of Cologne. The Abbot of St. Trond 
joined it in 1582, with twelve of his religious. 
Another religious community of men, driven from 
Amsterdam and settled in Wesel, entered that 
same year. 1 Five sodalities had been established 
among the numerous students of the Three 
Crowns College. They were about a thousand, 
among them a hundred boarders, most of them of 
Belgian extraction, but obliged, owing to religious 
troubles, to be educated in a foreign land. 2 The 
sodality was the soul of that establishment. The 
influence of those who were admitted by Cos- 
terus made itself felt in the very midst of them 
all, and inaugurated a movement supremely favor- 
able to virtue and to literary progress. Their ope- 
rations, however, were not confined within the col- 
lege enclosure. Some distinguished themselves 
by their ardor in teaching catechism, others ex- 
ercised their zeal against heresy by destroying the 
works of Luther and Erasmus. 3 Some of the 

1 Litt. Ann., Coll. Colon., 1582, p. 170. 

2 Ibid. 1585, p. 271. 

3 It is interesting to see how this celebrated writer was judged 
by the pupils and their Catholic masters at Cologne. An ex- 
Augustinian like Luther, afterwards secretary to Henri de Bergues, 
bishop of Cambray, a fiery opponent of the Scholastic Philosophy, 
dependent on the liberality of princes and of the Pope — disregard 
of whose dignity he denounced as an impiety, — on excellent terms 



Z\)z JFtrst j?oUaitttcs outsits of Home 49 



older ones were true apostles, as active as mis- 
sionaries ; and " one was astonished," so say the 
Annals of the College, "that so many of these 
young men, brought up in the midst of the 
Lutheran errors, should not have been contam- 
inated." It was owing to the spirit of zeal imparted 
to them by the sodality, that pushed them onward 
to action and to struggle ; not satisfied with 
merely defending themselves against the dangers 
of heresy, they learned how to take the offensive 
against their formidable adversaries. Apostles 
from their youth, they consecrated themselves in 
large numbers to an apostolic life, in the secular 
clergy and religious orders. Cologne, like Douay, 
became a nursery of zealous priests, who protected 
their faith — the true one — against the power of 
Lutheran ism. 

From Cologne, where they were productive of 
so much consolation among the pupils, the sodal- 
ities of the Blessed Virgin spread in all the Rhen- 
ish province. 1 The colleges of Treves, of Wiirz- 

with Luther ami Melanchthon, full of wavering notions about the 
Church and about the Reformation, the precursor and hierophant 
of the modern spiri f , as M. Durand de Laur styles him, — Erasmus 
nevertheless died as a Christian, and was assisted in his last mo- 
ments by a priest of Turnhout. (De Ram, Bulletins de 1'Academie 
Royale de Belgique, IX., 462 : Annuaire de' l'Universite de Lou- 
vain, 1852.) 

1 Litt. Ann., 1581, Coll. Trevir., p. 175. 



50 Cije SoUaltttcs of tfje BlessctJ Ftrgin 

burg, of Mayence, of Fulda, of Speyer, of Co- 
blentz, thanks to the zeal of Father Costerus, wel- 
comed the work and witnessed its progress, before 
it received its final organization from Rome. The 
College of Molsheim in Alsace, founded in 1580, at 
the request of Jean de Manderscheicl, the bishop 
of Strasburg, had, from the beginning, a sodal- 
ity which distinguished itself by its activity against 
heretical attacks, and was the cradle of all those 
formed in Alsace. 1 

4. The Sodalities in Bavaria. 
Bavaria, which the Reformation tried twenty 
times to invade, was saved from heresy by the 
Society of Jesus. Paul Hoffaeus and the blessed 
Peter Canisius, distinguished not only for their 
devotion to the Blessed Virgin, but also for their 
scientific and oratorical talents, rendered them- 
selves so famous by their zeal, that the Duke 
Albert compared it to that of the apostles. He 
applied to them the praise that the church ad- 
dresses to the first preachers of the gospel : Petrus 
Apostolus et Paulus, ipsi nos docuerunt legem 
tuam, Domine. 2 

1 Four years since, this sodality celebrated the Tercentenary of 
its institution in a style of magnificence of which a detailed report 
may be found in the Catholic paper, "L'Union d' Alsace-Lor- 
raine," for Aug. 9, 1880. 

2 H. S., Book XXV., 3. 



Z\)t .first Sodalities outsiDc of ftotiu 5 1 

There has recently been written a history of 
the Bavarian sodalities, by M. Sattler. 1 The first, 
that of Dillingen, owed its origin to the venerable 
Father Jacob Rem. 2 Whilst yet a novice in Rome, 
in 1566, he had witnessed the zeal of Leonius 
for the honor of Mary, and the salutary influ- 
ence that this new work exercised over the 
minds of the young students. Becoming profes- 
sor, or prefect, of St. Jerome's College, in Dillin- 
gen, he took to heart the spreading of the devo- 
tion to the Blessed Virgin, by means of the sodal- 
ity. He had met one of those young men whose 
talents and virtues when at college, influenced 
in favor of what was good. Wolfgang Sigismund 
Haunsperg, belonging to a noble Bavarian family, 
took advantage of his social position to assist in 
Father Rem's scheme. In 1576 he formed a party 
of twenty-five select boarders, all of them de- 
cided, like himself, to give to the young men of 
the college the example of piety and application, 
and put it under the patronage of Mary. As the 
heretics had particularly discredited the devotion 
of the Holy Rosary, they got their names inscribed 

1 Geschichte der Marianischen Congregationen in Bayern. 
Munich, 1864. 

2 The life of this venerable servant of Mary has been written 
with equal erudition and piety by F. Fr. Hattler, S. J., Der ehr- 
wiirdige P. Jacob Rem und seine Marienconferenz, von Fr. Hattler, 
S. J., Regensburg, Georg Manz. 188 1. 



52 &tyt Sodalities of tfje Blcsscti Uirgtn 

in the confraternity of that name, and engaged 
themselves never to allow a day to pass without 
reciting their beads. 1 

In the following year, Father Rem had the 
consolation of seeing this fervent sodality become 
so large that it had to be divided into two sections. 
During the eight years that he lived in Dillingen, 
the colleges of Ingolstadt, of Munich, of Halle, 
of- Innspruck, and of Lucerne welcomed a work, 
which so marvellously aided in the education of 
young men. In 1579, Father Anthony Possevin, 
who was sent to Stockholm by the Sovereign Pon- 
tiff to confirm in the Catholic faith the King of 
Sweden, was ordered to convey a particular bull 
to these different sodalities, which Gregory XIII. 
ratified, and in which he granted them great indul- 
gences. 2 

These many favors encouraged the children of 
Mary ; but not the least favorable to the develop- 
ment of the work, was the earnestness with which 
Catholics in the highest ranks of society, princes 
of the church, and even the secular sovereigns, 
furthered its growth. In Munich, in 1579, whilst, 
under the direction of Father Caspar Hayvodus, 
the young Joachim von Fugger presided at one 
of their regular reunions, in the capacity of pre- 

1 Agricola, Hist. Prov. Germ. Sup., p. 169. 

2 Ibid., p. 197. 



Z\)t jFicst ^otraiittcs outset of ftome 53 

feet, William, son of Albert V., and hereditary 
prince of the duchy of Bavaria, came to solicit the 
favor of being admitted as a member of the sodal- 
ity, and like them he solemnly promised love and 
fidelity to the mother of Jesus Christ. His son, 
Maximilian, was, four years later, prefect of that 
sodality. He then secured his brother Philip, 
who became, later on, Bishop of Ratisbonne, and 
cardinal ; also many other young men of the most 
illustrious families in Bavaria, who, after having 
made their profession of faith, constituted them- 
selves the perpetual servants and defenders of the 
Blessed Virgin. 

Who will ever be able fully to appreciate the 
good these thousands of young men did for the 
maintenance of the Catholic faith in Bavaria, 
brought up as they were in religious exercises 
and with sentiments of piety and devotion to the 
Blessed Virgin ? " It is a glory for Dillingen," 
says the historian from whom we borrow these 
details, u to have inaugurated these sodalities, 
which, later on, could generally count up thirty 
thousand men 1 and youths as their members, in 
the single province of Upper Germany." 

1 Agncola, Hist. Prov. Germ. Sup. p. 169., 



54 £fy£ £otialtttes of tfje Biessefc Utrgin 



5. The Sodality of Fribourg. 
Fribourg had its sodality of the Blessed Virgin 
since 1581, and it was the blessed Peter Canisius 
who founded it. He had barely arrived in that 
city, where he was to pass the last seventeen years 
of his long and fruitful life, when the saint judged 
that, in order to dispel heresy, which threatened 
Fribourg from all parts, nothing would prove more 
efficacious than to promote the devotion of the 
Blessed Virgin. Even before opening an educa- 
tional establishment, he instituted a sodality of 
young men, and admitted it into that of the Roman 
College. The names of the first dignitaries have 
been -preserved in a document which may be found 
in the archives of the public library of Fribourg. 
These were Pancrace Python, whose nephew 
later on w T rote the life of Bl. Peter, and two 
young men belonging to the highest nobility, 
Nicolas Mayer and Charles de Diesbach. 1 Gen- 
eral confession, communion, the day of one's re- 
ception, daily examination of one's conscience, 
meetings every two weeks, visiting sick members, 

1 Boero, Vita del B. P. Canisio, p. 379. The details which follow 
in our text, are drawn from the " General Rules or Constitutions of 
the Sodality of Our Lady of the Assumption," a German manu- 
script of 34 pages, which the Sodality of Fribourg preserves with 
religious care, and which was exhibited in 1882, on the occasion of 
the tercentenary of its foundation. 



Z\]t JFtrst JcoSaltttcs otttstue of Eome 55 

devotion to the patrons of the month, were exer- 
cises which the association of Fribourg (as else- 
where) furthered and recorded in the very first of 
its rules. Let us only notice the great importance 
given to the part assigned to the prefect and con- 
suiters of that sodality. They do not merely pos- 
sess an honorary title, — their actions are well 
defined, subordinate, however, to the manage- 
ment of the Father Director. The young men 
who are acknowledged worthy of being admitted, 
and who have attained the proper age (twenty 
years), have to be instructed by one of the as- 
sistants, for one or tw r o months, in their future 
obligations. In the council which convenes every 
month, the two assistants, the secretary, the two 
consulters, and the prefect deliberate with the 
director as to the admission of postulants, and 
on whatever tends to the advancement and 
good government of the sodality. The prefect 
gives, with the approbation of the father, the 
certificate of admission countersigned by the 
secretary. He puts the seal of the sodality on the 
register of expenses. The assistants and he " are 
one heart, one soul — by their vigilance and affa- 
bility they will remove obstacles fro.n their way." 
If any one of the members of the sodality is ill, 
the prefect will see that he is visited and consoled 
by his colleagues, who, besides, will watch that he 



56 £fje tonalities of tfje BlesseU Utrfftn 

receives the last sacraments in seasonable time. 
The second part of the rule, settles on four great 
meetings during the year, among others on the 8th 
of September, " at midday in the church of Notre 
Dame of Bourguillon, to thank God and his 
ever blessed Mother for having afforded us the 
privilege of having the sodality, which, after 
having originated in Rome, was introduced in 
Fribourg by the very Rev. John Francis Bon- 
homius, legate of the Apostolic See, and by the 
much beloved and very learned nobleman and 
Father, Dr. Peter Canisius, who established it 
there on the day of the Nativity of the Blessed 
Virgin Mary, in the year 1581." On Good Friday, 
after matins in the evening, the college sodality, 
and the four other sodalities established for men, 
young men, and girls, moved in slow and solemn 
procession from the church. of Notre Dame to St. 
Nicholas, to visit the holy sepulchre, and from 
there to the Franciscan church. The cross was 
carried at the head of the cortege, then followed 
the young men, the citizens, the nobility, and the 
city authorities, after whom came the prefect accom- 
panied by the councillors of the state. The second 
part of the cortege was composed of women, pre- 
ceded by the prefectess and her assistants. Each 
one carried a lighted taper. Five Our Fathers 
and five Hail Marys were recited, with the arms 



Z\)t Jtrst &otialttics outsifce of l&ome 57 

crossed, before the Consecrated Host. On the 
way, the Lord's passion was meditated upon. The 
Holy Virgin, who has overcome all heresies in 
making them powerless against the church, espe- 
cially protected Fribourg. The witnesses who 
were summoned in the Beatification of the 
blessed Peter Canisius, gave evidence that the 
sodality was the great means by which Providence 
helped to keep the Catholic faith intact in that 
city. 1 We know what the heretics of Geneva 
aimed at." The inhabitants of Fribourg, most dis- 
tinguished for their piety, have for three centuries 
considered, and do still consider it, a great honor 
to be ranked under the banner of the children of 
Mary. 

6. The Sodality at Liege and in the 
Netherlands. 
In the midst of the religious troubles and the 
calamities of all kinds, which afflicted the Pro- 
vince of Belgium from 1566 until 1585, the col- 
leges of the Society had not found the tranquillity 
necessary to the work of education. Thanks to 
the energy of the Prince-bishop, Cardinal Gerard 
de Groesbeck, the district of Liege enjoyed com- 
parative peace. As early as 1569, the Society of 
Jesus had sent some of its children to exercise the 

1 Riess Der Selige Petrus Canisius, p. 474. 



58 €ije Sxi&altttes of tfje BlesseU Ftrgin 

holy ministry in the capital of that principality ; 
their devotion, especially during the ravages of the 
plague in 1579, had won for them a very honor- 
able record, and the council had masses cele- 
brated in the thirty-two parishes of the city for 
their superior, F. Nicholas Menu de Dinant, 
who had sacrificed his life to the service of the 
sick, with two other members of the Society. 1 
It is probable that a sodality of the Blessed 
Virgin was founded about that time at Liege ; 
for, in 1579, there appeared an edition of the 
first treatise that Costerus had edited, at Col- 
ogne, three years before, for the use of mem- 
bers of the confraternity. The fruits reaped 
thence by the Jesuits are enumerated in a letter 
which the Prince-bishop, Ernest de Baviere, wrote 
in 1 58 1 to the general of the society, Claudius 
Aquaviva : " Such has been," said he, " the 
good done by them, that the principality of Liege 
alone remained faithful to the Catholic faith, 
while all the neighboring provinces have fallen 
into heresy." Therefore, wishing to develop the 
results already acquired, he confirmed the grants 
made by bis predecessor, and definitely estab- 
lished the college. The sodality formed amongst 
the pupils, according to the rules of that at 
Cologne, bore, like all the others, fruits of bene- 

1 H. s. 1579, 131. 



Ziji JFtrst J&j&altttes outsttie of Eomc 59 

diction and of holiness. 1 The one that Father 
Costerus founded at Bruges in 1575 enjoyed but 
a passing existence ; the Jesuits had to yield to 
the partisans of the Prince of Orange, who, in 
the name of religious liberty, suppressed the col- 
lege. It was only re-established after the sub- 
mission of the city to its legitimate sovereign, 
Philip II. 

St. Omer saw a sodality started among its six 
hundred scholars in 1582. The principal citi- 
zens, and the bishop with a part of his clergy, 
wished to become members of it, and the Lettres 
Annuelles have kept the remembrance of the 
courageous steps which they took before the 
authorities to prevent the expulsion of the 
Jesuits, after the latter had refused to take the 
oath of allegiance to the Duke d'Alen§on. 2 The 
same letters render homage to the zeal which they 
displayed to revive the receiving of the sacra- 
ments : thanks to their example, there were soon 
seen, every Sunday, from three to five hundred of 
the faithful partaking of the Blessed Eucharist in 
the college church. On holy days, this number 
sometimes reached two thousand. 

Douay, Liege, Bruges, and Saint Omer were 
the only cities of the Belgian Province, where the 

l Litt. Ann. 1585, p. 347; H. S. 1581, 180. 



60 GTfje ^otialittes of tije 3SlcsseD Firgtn 

work of the sodalities could be established before 
receiving its definite organization by the decree 
of Gregory XIII. But by the restoration of 
religious peace, and by the zeal of Costerus, who 
had again become Provincial of Belgium in 1585, 
we shall soon see it spread rapidly in all the col- 
leges of that country, and contribute most suc- 
cessfully to the honor of the Mother of God, and 
to the preservation of the Catholic religion. 

To enumerate all the sodalities which were 
founded before 1584, in different parts of the 
world would take long, and would offer little 
interest. Let us name a few, which excite our 
attention on account of the illustrious persons 
whose names are connected with their origin. 
One was organized about 1575, among the 
students of Prague ; it had for its first director 
the venerable Edmund Campian, who ten years 
later adorned the annals of the church in Eng- 
land with his glorious martyrdom. 1 The cele- 
brated Maldonatus founded two at the college of 
Pont-a-Mousson, in Lorraine. 2 That of Naples 
was established in 1576 by Claudius Aquaviva, 
then rector. 3 At Milan, the Swiss college, which 
had Saint Charles Borromeo for its founder, wel- 
comed the pious association, and by a bull of 

1 Historia prov. Austriacae, auctore Socherio, p. 20a 

2 H. S. 1579, 43. 3 ibid. 1576, 47, 59. 



Z\)t JFtrst 5otialittcs outsttie of Home 61 

March 25, 1580, the Sovereign Pontiff, on the 
petition of the holy Archbishop, granted special 
indulgences to the scholars who had been en- 
rolled. He said that it was his wish to encourage 
in this way the godly deeds and the pious exer- 
cises of these meetings, and to help the young 
men to gather more abundant spiritual fruit for 
the salvation of their souls. 1 Saint Charles, and 
after him Cardinal Frederick, his nephew and 
his successor in the see of Milan, ever showed a 
lively interest in the work of the sodalities. 

Everywhere the same spirit animated them — 
the spirit of zeal to vindicate devotion to Mary 
against the outrages of the Protestants, and the 
spirit of fervor, and of emulation in study and in 
literary progress. At Cologne, in 1581, the mem- 
bers of the sodality represented, in the form of a 
drama, the story of Saint Cecilia ; and while some 
prominent citizens encouraged their attempts by 
paying the expenses of the representation, others, 
edified by the spectacle of Christian charity of 
which they had been witnesses, invited twelve 
poor students to their table, and furnished them 
with new suits of clothes. At Treves, the four 
sodalities of the students divided among them- 
selves the feasts of the Blessed Virgin, in order to 

1 We give this unpublished bull, Salvatoris et Domini, in an 
appendix. 



62 £f)c Sotialttics of tfje SSksseti Utrgtn 

honor the patroness of their studies, the Seat of 
Wisdom, by discourses, poems, and sometimes by 
dialogues of their own composition. 1 At Inn- 
spruck, the sodalists in spite of the opposition of 
certain timid Catholics, introduced the singing 
of the litany of Loretto in the churches : the 
Bishop, the Nuncio, and the Archduke encour- 
aged their zeal for the public devotion to the 
Mother of God. 2 At Wurzburg in a single year 
they recalled twenty heretics to Catholicity, and 
more than two hundred of the faithful to the fre- 
quenting of the sacraments. 3 At the college of 
Vienna, the society of Saint Barbara, honored 
fifteen years before by the virtues of the angelic 
Stanislaus Kostka, united itself in 1581 to the 
sodality of the Blessed Virgin. 4 The governor 
of the city, several senators and magistrates, 
allowed themselves to be persuaded by the 
exhortations and the examples of the members, 
publicly to issue the profession of the Catholic 
faith ; three apostolic legates, passing through 
Vienna, inscribed themselves on the rolls of this 
sodality; the Empress and the Queen-Mother of 
France, not being able to be admitted to the 

1 Litt. Ann. 1581. Coll. Trevir. p. 175. 
2Litt. Ann. 1581. Coll. OEnipont. 192. 

3 Ibid. Coll. Herbipolense, p. 178. 

4 It had been founded in 1579. Engstler: Bievis notitia de 
Sodalitate B. V. Assumptae, Viennae, anno 1579 erecta. 



Z\)t jFtrst Sofcalttteg outstHc of Home 63 

meetings of the pious associates, asked at least 
the favor of being counted among the Children of 
Mary. 1 The branch which flourished in Avignon, 
in 1577 devoted itself generously to the service 
of those stricken with the plague, and acted as 
substitutes for the Jesuits, who had seen eleven 
of their number succumb in the exercise of 
charity. 2 That of Lyons, quite prosperous in 
1581, signalized itself by the practice of works 
of mercy towards prisoners and the sick. 3 

The details which we have just given of the first 
twenty years of the sodalities, will lead us to un- 
derstand, much better than a general view, the 
influence of this salutary institution. In the midst 
of the relaxation in faith and morals which had 
invaded some Catholic nations, and in the face of 
the dangers with which the hatred of sectarians 
threatened the religion of our fathers, the sodali- 
ties of the Blessed Virgin helped powerfully to 
sustain works of faith and of charity, and to bring 
together and to unite the faithful ; but the greatest 
service which they rendered was to renew the 
Christian generation, by strengthening the young 
in piety and in virtue, under the protection of the 
glorious Mother of God. 

!Litt. Ann. Coll. Viennense, p. 196. 

2H.S. 1577, 120. 

3 Litt. Ann. Coll Lugdun. 1582, p. 163. 



64 Eft* Sodalities of tlje BkssttJ Firgt'n 



APPENDIX 



Bull of (Hregorg Iffit (Granting special Kntmlgenccs to 
tije Sotoalttjr of Milan, on tfa petition of St ffiftarle* 
iSorronteo 

Gregorius Papa XIII. ad perpetuani rei metnoriam. 

SALVATORIS et Domini Nostri Jesu Christi, 
qui ineffabili suae charitatis abundantia anti- 
qui hominis lapsum per immaculati corporis sui 
voluntarium in ara crucis sacrificium expiare dig- 
natus est, vices licet immeriti gerentes in terris, 
gregem dominicum curae nostrae commissum et ad 
devotionis sinceritatem et cordis contritionem per- 
amplius augendam et confessionis et sacrosanctae 
Eucharistiae sacramentorum participationem, nec- 
non aliorum charitatis et pietatis salutarium ope- 
rum exercitium et escam spiritualium alimentorum, 
indulgentiis videlicet et peccatorum remissionibus 
libenter invitamus, ut exinde suorum abolita mac- 
ula delictorum, praemissae expiationis fructum fa- 
cilius consequi et ad aeternae salutis gaudia feliciter 
pervenire mereantur. 



Z\)t JRrgt ^ooaltttcs outsttie of Eome 65 

Cum itaque, sicut accepimus, in collegio helveti- 
co Helvetiorum et Rhaetorum in do mo S. Spiritus. 
Mediolani erecto, quaedam scholarium congrega- 
tiones sub titulo ac protectione Beatae Marias Vir- 
ginis cum institutae vel instituendae sint ad spiritu- 
alem vitam promovendam, Nos cupientes ut ipsi 
scholares salutaribus operibus et exercitiis eo fer- 
ventius intendant, quomodo exinde pro animarum 
suarum salute majora spiritualia dona adipisci 
posse agnoverint : precibus quoque dilecti frlii 
nostri Caroli sanctae Praxedis tituli, presbyteri 
cardinalis ecclesiae Mediolani praesulis, nobis super 
haec humiliter porrectis, inclinati, de Omnipotentis, 
Dei misericordia ac beatorum Apostolorum Petri 
et Pauli auctoritate conrlsi 

Omnibus et singulis scholaribus et aliis fidelibus 
dicti Helveticorum collegii, qui alicui dictarum 
congregationum pro tempore se adscribi fecerint, 
die primi ingressus quern sacra peccatorum con- 
fessio et sacrosanctae Eucharistiae sumptio comita- 
bitur, plenariam 

Necnon illis qui jam in dictas congregationes 
cooptati sunt, quoquo die post notitiam habitam 
praesentium litterarum, poenitentes et confessi sanc- 
tissimamque Eucharistiam sumpserint, pariter eti- 
am plenariam omnium peccatorum suorum indul- 
gentiam ac remissionem misericorditer in Domino 
concedimus. 



66 &fye Sodalities of tfje 23lesse& Virgin 

Praeterea quoties ex congregationis instituto 
simul congregati collationibus, colloquiis spirituali- 
bus aut lectionibus sacris, adhortationibusque aut 
aliis piis exercitationibus per semihorae spatium 
vacaverint, aut ad canendas litanias aut recitan- 
dam antiphonam B. Mariae Virginis Salve Regina 
vel aliam pro temporis ratione, centum dierum. 

Quoties vero examen conscientiae agent, futurae 
meditationis argumentum accipient aut rationem 
peractae meditationis confessario aut praefecto 
spirituali reddent, unius anni. 

Quoties coronam recitaverint qui consueverunt 
saltern singulis sabathis et vigiliis festorum B. Ma- 
ris Virginis earn recitare, etiam unius anni. 

Quoties pro fratre defuncto ex instituto congre- 
gationis orabunt, trium annorum. 

Quoties peccata confitebuntur et sanctissimam 
Eucharistiam sumpserint, septem annorum. 

lis vero qui consueverint decimo quinto quoque 
die peccata confiteri et prima quaque mensis do- 
minica et praeterea in omnibus diebus festis Domini 
Nostri Jesu Christi, gloriosissimae Virginis Ma- 
riae, sanctorum Apostolorum, sancti Joannis Bap- 
tistae, omniumque Sanctorum et S. Ambrosii, sa- 
cratissimam Eucharistiam sumere, — quoties id 
egerint, quindecim annorum indulgentiam. 

At vero in festis diebus ejusdem B. Mariae 
Virginis, turn in festo praecipuo Ecclesiae collegii 



Z\)t Jtrst JSotoalittes outsttJe of i&ome 67 

Helvetiorum ac Rhaetorum hujusmodi, si etiam 
praecedenti die jejunaverint, etiam plenariam. 

Necnon in cujuslibet confratrum mortis articulo 
nomen Jesus et Ma rise, corde si minus voce 
potuerint, implorando, plenariam pariter omnium 
peccatorum suorum indulgentiam ac remissionem 
misericorditer in Domino concedimus et elargi- 
mur. 

Contrariis non obstantibus quibuscumque prae- 
sentibus, perpetuis futuris temporibus valituris. 

Datum Romae apud S. Petrum sub annuio pis- 
catoris die XXV martii MDLXXX, pontificatus 
nostri anno 8°. 



Quarto calendas Julii MDLXXXIV requisites 
Ulustrissimus et Reverendissimus Carolus Bor- 
romeus Cardinalis Tituli S a Praxedis qualis dies 
primus ingressus, cujus indulgentiae mentio fit, 
dicendus esset et habendus, declaravit esse ilium 
diem, quo primo post connrmationem, sodalitatem 
ingreditur, qui receptus fuerit. 



68 W$t Sodalities of tfje iSlesscti Ftrgtn 



Book II 



JDje SoMtties from 158^. to tfje Suppression of 
tfje Soeietg of Jesus m 1773 



CHAPTER I 

Canonical Institution of tfje 212Eork of tfje Sodalities 

HPHE various sodalities which we have seen es- 
* tablished were inspired with a common desire 
to develop devotion to the Blessed Virgin, prin- 
cipally in the colleges, and, by this means, to form 
the young to a Christian life and to solid piety. 
Progress in studies, the exercise of charity and 
zeal against the errors of the times, entered 
equally, according to circumstances, into the 
proper character of these associations. Neverthe- 
less, outside of this community of views and of 
these pious practices, there was no bond of union. 
Although some, like those of Douay, of Sienna, 
and of Madrid, had been established conformably 



Canonical Enstttuttcm 69 

to the rules of the sodality of Rome, the greater 
number had been formed independently. Others 
— those of Cologne and of Paris, for instance — 
had obtained a pontifical or episcopal approbation 
and particular indulgences. Several, too far from 
Rome, had been unable to have recourse to the 
Sovereign Pontiff to obtain the desired indul- 
gences, and the majority remained deprived of 
the spiritual favors granted by Gregory XIII. to 
the sodality of the Roman College. 

At Rome, a union, or rather the most complete 
unity, had been maintained among the various 
sodalities ; they were considered as so many sec- 
tions of the original sodalitv, which was called 
the Primary Sodality. 1 Besides insuring the com- 
mon enjoyment of numerous indulgences, the 
unity maintained a uniformity of aim and of 
direction, and proved an element of vitality. 
V. R. F. Claudius Aquaviva, elected General of 
the Jesuits in 1581, was foremost in appreciating 
these advantages. He wished that all the associ- 
ations already established independently of that 
of Rome, might be formed into a vast network, of 
which all the threads would converge to the same 
centre, — a combination that would insure them 
the stability and the strength of which their iso- 
lation would have deprived them. He exposed, 

1H. S. 1584, 15. 



70 W$z Sodalities of tfje Blcsseti Uirgtit 

therefore, to the Sovereign Pontiff, the difficulties 
that the different sodalities met with, obliged as 
they were to address themselves, each one in par- 
ticular, to the Roman Court, in order to draw 
upon the treasury of indulgences : and he showed 
the advantages which they could reap from an 
organization which would unite them intimately 
to the Primary Sodality of Rome. Gregory XIII. 
approved of this plan, and expressed the hope 
that from the Roman College, which he had 
so generously founded, piety and devotion to 
Mary, as well as the sacred and the profane 
sciences, might spread throughout the entire 
world. He therefore signed, on the 5th of De- 
cember, 1584, the bull Omnipotentis Dei, by which 
he established the sodality of the Roman College 
as the centre of all the others, and granted a 
canonical existence, and the pontifical appro- 
bation to all those who might enter into this grand 
union. We subjoin the translation of this bull, 1 
so important for the future of the work. 

Gregory, Bishop, Servant of the Servants of God, 

IN PERPETUAL REMEMBRANCE. 

"In accordance with the example of our Sa- 
viour, God Omnipotent, Who from the overflowing 

1 Bourasse, Summa Aurea de Laudibus B. M. V., Vol. VII. Bul- 
larium Marianum, p. 100. — Instit. Soc. Jesu. Pragae, p. 82. 



Canonical institution 71 

of His mercy continually pours into the hearts of 
His faithful the grace of divine inspirations and the 
fervor of devotion, and in order that these His ser- 
vants may render His majesty due homage with 
fruit to themselves, and that they may cultivate 
all works of piety, We interest ourselves, as, in- 
deed, it is the duty of Our pastoral charge, in 
favoring them in the performance of these works 
and of godly exercises, so that their piety and 
devotion may meet with constant increase, and 
that they themselves may reach in security the 
goal of salvation. 

" Before this We had been apprised that the 
greater part of the good and devout youths who 
are engaged in the study of letters in Our Roman 
College of the Society of Jesus, moved by a keen 
sentiment of affection for the Blessed Virgin 
Mary, Mother of God, and urged by the pious ex- 
hortations of their teachers, had formed the prac- 
tice of visiting on certain days and at fixed hours 
the Church of the Annunciation attached to their 
college, for the purpose of purifying their con- 
sciences with sincere devotion and with lively 
sorrow by means of confession and holy commu- 
nion, of reciting the divine office, of listening to in- 
structions and conferences, and of performing other 
salutary works of the spirit, and that, thanks to 
their example, many others of the faithful had 



72 £i)e Sodalities of tfje Blcsscti Utrgtn 

become united and associated for the same objects 
of Christian zeal. Therefore, desirous of giving 
further development to these pious associations, 
we had granted to the students, and to the rest of 
the faithful who take up the practice of these holy 
works and pious exercises, many indulgences and 
remissions of penalties, as may be witnessed at 
fuller length in the letters which We issued on 
that occasion. 

" Since then — as Our well-beloved son, the Gen- 
eral of the Society of Jesus, has recently represented 
to Us — as the colleges of the same society have 
been multiplied in the various parts of the world, 
and especially in the principal cities of Europe, for 
the purpose of forming youth in virtue and moral- 
ity, and of imbuing them with true piety and sound 
doctrine, and as the day-scholars who flock thither 
for instruction have evinced great fervor in imi- 
tating these excellent works of piety, and as there 
has thence been reaped a copious harvest for the 
glory of God, for the veneration of the ever-blessed 
Virgin, for the welfare of the people and the con- 
solation of souls, intent as We are upon warmly 
cherishing and securely maintaining this praise- 
worthy zeal for good works and devout exercises, 
it hath seemed good to Us that the Roman College 
(the new and magnificent building of which is now 
being erected at Our expense and under Our aus- 



(Canonical ^Institution 73 

pices), after having originated these pious and 
salutary exercises, should possess the first and 
principal sodality canonically established. We 
would thus fulfil the humble petition of the Gen- 
eral of the society, who has entreated Us to give 
Our approbation to this work and of Our Apos- 
tolic benevolence, to provide for it as We may 
deem it to be opportune. 

"Wishing, then, most cordially to second the 
pious desires of the students, and to encourage 
their ardor in the performance of these exercises 
of devotion, We accede to his prayer, and by Our 
Apostolic authority, and by the tenor of this pre- 
sent brief, We erect and We institute in the 
church designated above a sodality which shall be 
the primary, and shall be the mother of all the 
others, with the title of the Annunciation of the 
Blessed Virgin Mary, composed of the day-scholars 
of the aforesaid college, and of all the other faith- 
ful devoted to that society, desiring that it shall 
be directed by the General aforesaid and each of 
his successors, and after their death and until the 
canonical election of a new General, by the Vicar 
of the society, without, however, prejudicing the 
interests of this society. And in order that the 
members of this sociality may always receive in- 
crease of devotion and of piety in the graces and 
heavenly gifts with which it will be favored, trust- 



74 £fa ^otraltttes of tfyc Blcsscti Utrgin 

ing in the mercy of God Omnipotent, by the 
authority of the blessed apostles Peter and Paul, 
We freely grant in the Lord, by the tenor of this 
present brief, and by Our Apostolic authority, a 
plenary indulgence of all their sins, on the day of 
their reception, to all and each of the faithful who 
are truly penitent and have confessed their sins, 
and who shall thenceforth rank as members of 
this pious sodality, and on that day shall have re- 
ceived the most Holy Sacrament of the Euchar- 
ist in that church or in any other whatsoever. We 
also grant them a similar indulgence when at the 
point of death." . . . 

Then follows the enumeration of the indul- 
gences which the Sovereign Pontiff attached to 
the various works proper to the sodality. This 
w r e omit, with the passing remark that the works 
of mercy become traditional amongst the members 
of the sodalities, were not forgotten in the list. 
Thus Gregory XIII. granted a year of indulgence 
for all visits to the sick, either members of the 
sodalities or others, at their homes or at the hos- 
pital ; for presence at holy mass or at funerals, 
and for the reconciliation of enemies. 

In this brief one only sodality is recognized by 
the Holy See. It is that of the Annunciation, 
established in the church of the Roman College, 



Canonical Enstitutton 



75 



and bearing the title of the Primary Sodality. 
The General of the Society of Jesus, who has the 
supreme direction of it, receives full power to 
affiliate other confraternities to it, and, by the 
very fact of their affiliation, they gain a canonical 
existence and all the favors granted to the Pri- 
mary Sodality. It is required, however, by the 
terms of this bull, that they should be erected 
under the common title of the Annunciation, and 
remain under the control of the General of the 
Jesuits. From this arose the custom of sending 
to new organizations a diploma, in which he re- 
cognized them as constituting one and the same 
sodality with that of the Roman College. 

It is from the year 1584, when its official exis- 
tence commenced, that the Roman Sodality of the 
Annunciation dates its origin ; hence it chose this 
year as a starting-point in reckoning its first two 
centennial jubilees. 1 

1 Esposizione delle regole della Congregazione prima primaria. 
Rome, Bourlie, 1821, p. 4. 



76 Zi)t Sotmltttes of tfje Bicsscti l T trgm 



CHAPTER II 

Hebelopment anti ©rgant^atton of tfje Sotialtttes 

HTHE work so modestly begun twenty years be- 
* fore, and now placed on a firm footing, was 
destined to grow into a vast association of prayer 
and effort, having its centre in Rome, and extend- 
ing even to the smallest colleges of the society. 
Ere long it was to gain still wider scope, and be- 
yond the narrow limits of collegiate institutions it 
was to exercise its influence over all ages and all 
conditions of society. 

In the Roman College, the Primary Association 
was soon divided into three sections ; the first was 
reserved for students of philosophy and theology 
who had already completed their twentieth year; 
the second was composed of those who were from 
fourteen to twenty years old ; the third included 
the younger pupils. This is the origin of the 
well-known name of Prima Primaria, or first 
primarv, borne by the principal sodality, and ap- 



©eijdopnunt anti ©rgant^at'on of tfjc Sofcaitttes 77 

pearing even in the inscription over the entrance 
of its first place of meeting : — 

PRIMA • PRIMARIA 

CONGREGATIO 

OMNIVM • CONGREGATIONVM 

TOTO • ORBE • DIFFVSARVM 
MATER • ET • CAPVT. 1 

The bull Omiiipotentis Dei did not limit the 
work of the sodalities to young students, Very 
naturally the graduates of the Roman College 
wished to continue to enjoy the advantages of 
the sociality and to take part in its reunions ; 2 it 
was judged more prudent, however, to erect new 
sodalities, whose direction might be adapted to 
the special requirements of their members. In 
the meanwhile, several associations had been 
formed outside of Rome, under the protection of 
the Holy Virgin, but not bearing the title of the 
Annunciation. Some of these were designed for 
men of the world. From this time, others were 
founded for all conditions of society, for priests, 
for the nobilitv, for the middle classes, for artisans 
and even for peasants. Everywhere recourse was 
had to the power of the sodality as a means of 
confirming the faith of Catholics against the 

1 Translation: — The First Primary Sodality, the Mother and 
Head of all the Sodalities spread over the Whole Earth. 
2H.S. 1587,3. 



78 Cfje j&o&alittes of tfje Blesseti Utrgtn 

seductions and errors of the time. Even more 
was expected from the associations of men of 
mature age than from those of the young, on 
account of the natural inconstancy of youth. 1 
This state of affairs caused V. R. F. Claudius 
Aquaviva to solicit a new favor from Pope 
Sixtus V., the successor of Gregory XIII. 

He represented, to the Sovereign Pontiff that 
the number of the associates and the diversity of 
their needs, had often made it necessary to estab- 
lish several sodalities in the same city, and that 
even before the bull of Gregory XIII., some pious 
men living in the world had formed others, which 
were wholly distinct from those of the students. 
On the one hand, F. Aquaviva desired that 
these sodalities should keep their own titles as a 
distinguishing mark, but on the other he wished 
them to be affiliated to the Primary Sodality of 
Rome, that they might participate in the favors 
granted to the sodalities of the Annunciation. 
Sixtus V. acceded to all his requests by the bull 
Superna dispositione, dated Jan. 5, 1586, 2 which 
he confirmed the following year by the bull 
jRomanum decet Pontificem? In the sequel a series 
of pontifical rescripts was to extend still further 
the powers of the General of the Society of Jesus. 

1H. S. 1587, 4. 2 Summa mirea, vol. VII. p. 123. 

S 29 September 1587. Instit. Soc. Jesu, Pragae, p. 99. 



Hcbclopmcnt arrt (Srgani^ation of tfjc ^otialtttes 79 

Instead of transcribing them here, we will give 
merely their substance. Not satisfied with con- 
firming in their whole extent the privileges already 
granted, the Sovereign Pontiffs, Clement VIII. 
(1602), and Gregory XV. (162 1) authorized the 
General to establish sodalities in all the houses of 
the Society, including simple residences, and even 
to confer the privileges of affiliation upon all such 
as should be established elsewhere with the appro- 
bation of the Ordinary. They also settled the 
principle that the different names they might bear 
should form no obstacle to their union with the 
Prima Primaria. This decision revoked, in favor 
of the sodalities, all previous bulls which had pro- 
hibited a similar communication of favors desig- 
nated by the phrase ad instar} 

As early as 1585, Claudius Aquaviva notified 
the Provincials of the Society of the favors granted 
by Gregory XIII., and indicated to them the for- 
malities to be observed in erecting sodalities of 
the Blessed Virgin. He now communicated to 

1 Clement VIII. Cum sicut nobis. ... 30 Aug. 1602, . . . nonob- 
stantibns nostra de non concedendis indulgentiis ad instar, aliisque 
constitutionibus et ordinationibus apostolicis, caeterisque contrariis 
qiiibuscu'mque. — Greg. XV. Alias pro parte. ... 15 April, 1621 
. . . decernentes prsedictas Gregorii et Sixti praedecessorum necnon 
praesentes litteras. sub constitutione recentis memorise Clementis 
VIII., super modo et forma confratcrnitatis erigendi, aggregandi 
edita, minime comprehend!. ■ 



80 ' ®&e So&aitttcs of tfje Bicsscti Ftrgin 

them the substance of the briefs of Sixtus V. and 
Clement VIII. He also caused to be inserted in 
the Institute of his Order, among the Ordinances 
for Generals, 1 certain specifications of which the 
following are a summary: ist. Every sodality 
which may desire to be aggregated to the Primary 
Sociality, must send two copies of its application, 
— one addressed to the General of the Society, 
the other to the prefect and assistants of the Pri- 
mary Sociality. 2d. The expenses of this aggre" 
gation ars to be borne, not by the sodality of the 
Roman College, but by those which ask the favor. 
3d. The sodalities, as such, can possess no real 
estate or fixed revenues. 

These details of organization were the result of 
experience. Already some associates in Valencia 
and Naples had proposed to settle annual reve- 
nues upon their establishments ; but Aquiviva pru- 
dently ordered that their offers should be refused, 
as he did not wish the sodalities to become trans- 
formed into confraternities, and so lose the privi- 
lege of exemption, according to the terms of the 
bull of Clement VIII., entitled Qucecumque a 
sede apostolical Many times afterwards, the 
Generals renewed the orders of Aquaviva upon 

l Institutum Soc. Jesn, Ordinationes Praepos. Generalium, cap. 
XXL, 2, 3. 
2-H. S.i 587, 4-5- 



Development anti ©rgarmatton of tfjc ^ooaitttes 81 

this point. In some cities the sodalities desired 
to found monts de piete. This was only permitted 
on condition that individual members should take 
the management of them, using only their own 
names and bringing no responsibility upon the 
association. 1 

In addition to this general organization, were 
there any special rules common to all the sodali- 
ties and prescribing in detail any works of devotion 
or charity ? None at all ; a spirit of breadth and 
foresight had presided over the definitive estab- 
lishment of these associations. After pointing 
out their character, aim, and essential elements, 
the superiors left to the prudence of their direc- 
tors the arrangement of minor points, according 
to the circumstances and necessities of time and 
place. The first rules of the Anntmziata 2 were 

1 Responsa Prcepositontm Ge?zeralhi?7t ad Varios Superiores, 
Collecta in Provincia Flandro-Belgica. § 10. De Congregationibus. 
Congregations sub cura Societatis non possunt fundare montem 
misericordiae a se dependentem, quia si haberent ejusmodi bona, ab 
episcopis possent visitari. (12 nov. 1594, ad prow Xeapol.) — Ut 
assignati reditus teneri possint, potest institui alius coetus extra 
septa nostra, in quern non admittantur nisi qui sunt ex congrega- 
tione nostra, cui committantur reditus et curse alienae a congrega- 
tionibus nostris. (28 aug. 1610, ad. prov. Austriac.) — Xec etiam 
jus ad certas eleemosynas habsre potest congregatio ; quae si 
dentur, accipi possunt, s ion dentur, non possunt peti tanquam ex 
justitia debits. (1616. ad prov. Sard.) 

2 Manuale Sodalita is B. M. V., collectum olim a Sodalitate 



82 2H)c &otialtttes of tfje BlessetJ Ftrgttt 

expressed in these terms : " Since the members 
make profession of a more perfect life, they are 
invited to devote themselves with more than ordi- 
nary zeal to works of Christian piety, such as fre- 
quent confession and communion, daily recitation 
of the Rosary or of the Office of the Blessed Vir- 
gin, meditation, visitation of prisons and hospitals, 
catechetical instruction of the ignorant, and other 
Christian works of this kind ; they may engage in 
these occupations singly according to their cir- 
cumstances or their devotion, or the whole sodal- 
ity may unite in them as a body ; in this they will 
follow the advice of their father director and of 
the superior of the college." It is but the aim 
and the general spirit of the sodalities which are 
manifested by the rules, while they leave the 
settlement of details to the discretion of the direc- 
tors ; and, as might be expected, even a cursory 
examination of the manuals of sodalities belong- 
ing to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, 
reveals great diversity in the secondary regula- 
tions. This was inevitable, especially after the 
work was no longer bounded by the limits of col- 
leges, but had been extended among all conditions 
and classes of society. The direction to be given 

Leodiensi. Mussiponti, 1608. Pars 2da; Leges Congregationum. 
. . . According to Father Ribadenaira (Catalogus Scrifltoru7?t S. /.) 
Father Delrio edited the first edition that had appeared at Liege. 



Development anti Organisation of trje tonalities 83 

to a reunion of cultivated men must necessarily 
differ from that which would be suited to a con- 
fraternity of laborers. It will, however, be read- 
ily understood that the Directors conformed as 
far as possible to the rules of the Primary Sodal- 
ity, with reference to prayers and other devotional 
exercises, which might be used in common by all 
classes of associates. 

A question of some interest here suggests itself : 
Did the rules of the Primary Sodality of Rome 
prescribe at least a common formula, a precisely 
similar act of consecration, for all who entered 
the different sodalities of the Blessed Virgin ? 
We have seen that the formula in use at the pre- 
sent day in Belgium, dates from the earliest times, 
and that its identical terms are to be found in the 
Manual of Father Costerus. 1 In 1694, Father 
Crasset gave it as in general use in the sodalities 

1 This formula is found together with others in the Leges et 
Statnta Congregationis B. V. Monachii, an. MDCIII., p. 62 ; in 
the Regies de la Sodalite . . . approuvee en Anvers cntre les 
nations Van 1610 sous le titre de I ' Immacnlee Conception . . . 
chez Jean Cnobbaert ; in the Sodalis Parthenicus published at 
Luxemburg by Kleber, 1758, in the chapter : Leges ex romano exem- 
plar! paucis comprehensae. A commentary on it may be found in 
Stengel, S. J. : Exegesis super Sacramenti Mariani formula, 
Ingolstadt, i2mo, 1620: in Frolich, S. J.: Sermones ad Sodales 
Parthenicos. Dillingen, 1709 ; Nadasi, Annates Mariani, n. 
513, seems to know no other : " ea qua nos B. Virgini dedicamus, 
formula : Sancta Maria, mater Dei, etc/' 



84 &ty Sotoaltttts of tfje Bksseti Utrgm 

of France ; he adds, however, that there is room 
for doubt as to whether it is the most ancient. 
" It appears from our books," says he, " that this 
prayer is not the original form of consecration to 
the Blessed Virgin, but is only an abridgment 
of a longer formula, which was still in. use within 
the last sixty years." He then gives this earlier 
act of consecration as it was preserved in the 
Professed House of the Society in Paris, signed by 
Cardinal de la Rochefoucauld and other associates. 
In fact, the last edition of the Leges et Statuta 
Sodalitatum; published at Rome in 1855, which is 
an authority for the traditions of the Prima 
Primaria, gives no other formula. It seems, on 
the whole, most probable that the sodalities of 
Belgium and Germany faithfully retained the 
formula bequeathed to them by Costerus, while 
the sodality of Rome adopted, from the first, the 
one which Father Crasset afterwards found in 
the archives of the Professed House, at Paris. 

We will look no further into the canonical or- 
ganization of the sodalities. Additional details, 
which we might furnish, would occupy too much 
space, and would likewise trench upon the domain 
of writers on Canon Law. 



Extension of trjt fflffltorft 85 



CHAPTER III 

lEitenston of tfje OTork of tlje &otralittcs, especially in tfje 
ISelgian Provinces 

rHE encouragement and spiritual favors which 
* Popes Gregory XIII. and Sixtus V. had be- 
stowed so liberally on the members of the sodali- 
ties, gave a magnificent impulse to devotion toward 
Our Lady. The sodalities which, under various 
titles, had been established for several years in a 
great number of cities, solicited the advantages of 
affiliation, and solemnly celebrated their union 
with that of the Roman College. In the short 
space of two years, one hundred and thirty-nine 
certificates of aggregation were forwarded to dif- 
ferent parts of the Catholic world. 1 

Titles in .the greatest variety, testifying to the 
confidence of the faithful of all countries in the 
protection of the Mother of God, pressed for en- 
rolment upon the registers of the Prima Primaria. 
Here, the members had chosen the title of " Our 
Lady of the Rosary," in memory of the earlier 

1 Litt. Ann. 1589. Col. Rom. 



86 ©fje Sotoaltttes of tfje Blesseti Firkin 

connection with the celebrated confraternity of 
the Dominicans ; there, the patroness was " Our 
Lady of the Angels," " Our Lady of Peace," or 
" of Succor ; " elsewhere, again, it was the " Mother 
of Sorrows," the " Queen of Priests," "of Mar- 
tyrs," or "of all Saints." Sometimes a title com- 
memorated one of the mysteries of her life, while 
again she was invoked by the particular name of 
some miraculous shrine, 1 as Our Lady of Loretto, 
of Hungary, etc. Very many of the new sodalities 
took the same title with that of Rome. 

At that time there was not one of the colleges of 
the Society (which numbered over two hundred 
at the beginning of the seventeenth century), in 
which the Blessed Virgin might not behold nu- 
merous gatherings of students wholly devoted 
to her honor, and to the faithful practice of their 
duties as Christians. 

But no part of the world welcomed the sodali- 
ties with so much ardor as the Low Countries. 
Until 1585 the religious revolution had obstructed 
the action of the Society of Jesus. As soon as 
peace was restored, Father Costerus, who had been 
promoted a second time to the government of the 
Belgian province, employed himself, with all the 
ardor of his devotion, in establishing this work of 

1 Nadasi has taken pains to collect them in 1658 : Annates 
Afariani, p, 635, 638. 



ExUnsion of tfje WLoxk 87 

the children of Mary. Bruges, Ypres, Anvers, 
Mons, 1 and several other cities where the liberality 
of the Duke of Parma opened colleges for the 
Society, saw the sodalities inaugurated at the same 
time. The Reformation had everywhere attacked 
devotion to Mary, and Costerus exerted himself 
to implant it everywhere in the hearts of the young. 
Wherever it was possible, he took pains to found 
sodalities of influential men in her honor. 

At Anvers he established, on the eighth of De- 
cember, 1585, a branch, the zeal of which deserves 
special mention. In this city, where Mary had 
reigned as a sovereign from time immemorial, the 
iconoclastic sectaries had signalized their hatred 
by criminal profanations. Her pious votaries were 
now ambitious of re-establishing their Patroness in 
her rights by a public and, in a manner, official act 
of homage. They obtained permission to place 
her statue in front of the city hall, and to invest 
it with a crown and sceptre in presence of the new 
magistrates, as an acknowledgment of her power 
and of the protection she had always granted to the 
commercial capital. This ceremony was celebrated 
with a magnificence which rejoiced the hearts of 
all good citizens, and gave complete satisfaction 
to the ardent propagator of devotion to Mary. 2 

1 H. S., 1584, n. 99, 1585, n. 127, 1586, n. 55. 

2 Precis Historiques, Mai, 1882. 



88 Eije cSotraiittcs of tije Bicssrtr Utrgtrt 

At Lou vain, which was a prey to the discussions 
raised by the errors of Baius, it seemed to Coste- 
rus that a devotion traditional in the university 
might be efficacious in calming the minds of the 
disputants. And so, immediately after the publi- 
cation of the bull, Omnipotentis Dei, he established 
a sodality among the students. He afterwards 
had the consolation of hearing that Lensaeus de 
Bailleul, who had been among the foremost in the 
contest, had, in 1793, enrolled himself in the 
number of the associates. From Liege, Costerus 
wrote, on the 1st of January, 1589, to the general 
of the Societv, to inform him of the success of the 
sodality, and of the great number of prominent 
men who were consecrating themselves to the ser- 
vice of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 1 Shortly after, 
one of the most celebrated writers of the time, 
Justus Lipsius, entered the association, to sanctify 
in it the last years of his life ; and, after him, names 
still more illustrious were to honor the sodalities 
of Louvain. 

At Brussels the sodalities could not show names 
so glorious in the annals of science, yet Costerus 
had the happiness of seeing enrolled there men 
whose piety furnished a noble example. In the 
court of Albert and Isabella there was no want of 
fervent Catholics ready to make open profession 

1 Archives du Royaume de B:lgique, bound MS., vol. L, n. 772. 



lExtenston of tfje W&oxk 89 

of their love for Mary. In 16 17 the Latin so- 
dality included a score of members of the Privy 
Council, and of the Chancery of Brabant. The 
Duke of Neubourg, also, who had recently been 
brought back from Protestantism to the religion 
of his ancestors, entered the body-guard of Mary. 
Brussels finally counted nineteen sodalities, of 
various ages and classes. 

With what joy did the good old man see them 
gather by turns at the feet of that miraculous 
statue of Our Lady of Mercy, which had been 
transferred to the house of the Jesuits from the 
ancient chapel of St. Christopher, where it had 
become celebrated, and which has always, even 
in our own day, received such marked veneration 
from the faithful. 1 

It was at Brussels that he was to end his long 
career, which had been so fruitful in the works of 
eternal life. While he was Provincial, and after- 
wards during the thirty years which he had 
divided between preaching and the composition 
of numerous works, he had contributed much to- 
ward repairing the ruin of religion in his country. 
Under the protection of her who has triumphed 

1 In 1854 it was crowned in the name of the Sovereign Pontiff, 
with a most brilliant ceremonial on the part of the army and the 
court of Leopold II., in the church of Notre Dame de la Chapelle, 
where it had been placed in 1804. 



90 ®fjc ^otralittes of tfje 2Slesseti Utrgin 

over all heresies, he beheld the work so dear to 
his heart spreading in all directions ; everywhere 
pious Catholics were boldly professing that devo- 
tion to Mary which had once been despised as 
childishness or detested as idolatry. The mem- 
ory of Costerus long survived in the hearts of the 
sodalists of Germany and Belgium ; 1 at the end 
of the last century the sodalities of Anvers com- 
memorated by a jubilee the name of their first 
founder and his zeal against heresy. 2 

There are few countries where the devout sol- 
diers of Mary have spread so widely and done 
such good service as in the Belgian provinces. 
Twenty years after the death of Costerus, ninety- 
eight sodalities existed there. 

The sodalities of Bavaria were perhaps even 
more flourishing ; but is it at all possible to estab- 
lish a comparison ? Have not all Catholic coun- 
tries vied with one another in claiming the glory 
of an extraordinary zeal for the honor and service 
of the Mother of God ? Wherever the Society of 
Jesus put forth its efforts to enlarge the kingdom 

i He died on the sixth of December, 1619, in a happy old age, 
without a single cloud having been cast over his days by sin or 
sorrow. " The story of his life shall be told, for so noble a sub- 
ject is well deserving of a book," wrote Father Bourghois, on 
learning his death. This prediction is still unverified; but why 
should it not tempt some pious servant of Mary ? 

2 Precis Historiques. Mai, 1882. 



Extzmiaix of tije BKork 91 

of Jesus Christ, either by preaching or education, 
it seemed equally desirous of extending the sov- 
ereignty of the Blessed Mother of the Saviour. 
The principal means it employed, both in its own 
colleges and among those living in the world, was 
always the work of the sodalities. 

Even in heathen countries, in the Chinese, 
Japanese, and American missions, the Society ral- 
lied new Christians round the standard of the 
Queen of Heaven. In 1604, eighty-seven years 
after China had opened her doors to the preach- 
ing of the gospel, the Christian religion, and, with 
it, devotion to Mary, had penetrated into ten pro- 
vinces. More than four hundred sodalities had 
been formed there in honor of the Blessed Virgin 
or of the Passion of her Divine Son. Some of 
these included over a hundred members, chosen 
from among the most fervent converts. Zealous 
catechists were trained in them, and they doubt- 
lessly had a large share in the work of conversions, 
the number of which rose at this period to five 
thousand or even six thousand a year. 1 The Sodal- 
ity of the Mother of Mercy in Pekin furnished 
charitable assistance to indigent Christians. 2 

In Paraguay the Jesuit fathers had organized 

1 Fr. De Rougemont, Hist or ia Tartaro-Sinica, Lou vain, 
Hulh^aercb, 1673, P- T 93> n - T 33- 

2 H. S. 1628, 221. 



92 GHfje ^oUaltttes of ti)t BIcsseti Utrgtn 

settlements of Christian Indians, or reservations, 
under the names of the Assumption, the Concep- 
tion, Loretto, and other similar titles. In the 
bosom of these, chosen bands were gathered under 
the protection of Mary. Christian piety will not 
then be astonished at the words of a bishop of 
Buenos Ayres, Dom Pedro Faxardo, who said : 
"I do not believe that one mortal sin is com- 
mitted in a year in the reservations.' 5 This is 
the highest eulogy ever bestowed on these Chris- 
tian communities. 

While the work was performing these wonders 
in barbarous countries, it had to struggle, in com- 
pany with the Children of St. Ignatius, against 
the persecutions constantly fomented against 
devotion to Mary by the Protestants, who 
dreaded nothing so much as " the Popery and 
idolatry" of the Jesuits. On the other hand, the 
Jesuits, to preserve the faith of Catholics, were 
gathering them behind the aegis of Mary, and 
were sometimes able to protect even the temporal 
interests of the associates. At Augsburg, the 
Protestant bakers pitilessly expelled all Catholic 
bakers from their guild. They could gain no 
redress, as they were excluded by their faith from 
every privilege. But at the suggestion of a Jesuit, 
they obtained leave from the city council to 
form a sodalitv of their own, which enabled them 



Extension of tfye Wlaxk 93 

to maintain their ground against an odious 
monopoly. 1 

England, once the isle of Saints and " Our 
Lady's Dower,'' consecrated by more than one 
of her kings to the august Queen of Heaven, 2 
did not pass through the troubled days of the 
Reform without receiving the new association 
upon her shores. It was established in a mo- 
ment of sunshine, too soon followed by fresh 
tempests. At the end of the seventeenth cen- 
tury, F. Edward Scarisbrick, who preached at 
the court of Queen Henrietta Maria, and was 
afterwards chaplain of King James II., was 
Director of a sodality of the Immaculate Concep- 
tion. He also edited a manual of rules for its 
use. 3 This sodality disappeared with the college 
of Savoy ; but on the continent, in France, in 
Spain, in the Low Countries, numerous English 
colleges, supported by the generosity of the faith- 
ful, kept up prosperous and fervent sodalities. 

1 H. S. pars V., lib. XVI., 33. 

2 Waterton, Pietas Mariana Britajinica, London, 1879, PP« 
11-17. 

3 See De Backer, under Neuvill, Rules and Instructions for the 
Sodality of the Immaculate Conception of the most Glorious and 
Ever Virgin Mary Mother of God ; with a short appendix relating 
to the second congregation of the same sodality, MDCCIII, 120, 
150 pp. This bibliographical note may perhaps contain the 
answer to the question proposed by Mr. Waterton, op. cit, p. 99, 
note 34. 



94 ®fy ^oUaiitics of tfje iSitsscti Virgin 

In these, new apostles were preparing themselves 
to dispute with heresy the kingdom of the Virgin 
Mother. In an abridgment of the rules of the 
sodality of Saint Omer, 1 the young members pro- 
fess it to be the object of their pious union, to 
promote true devotion to the Queen of Heaven, 
"that she may enjoy again full and peaceful 
possession of her ancient dowry." 2 Would that 
this hope might speedily be realized, nourished as 
it has been in the hearts of so many of that noble 
nation ! The servants of Mary are not praying in 
vain for the conversion of England. In the 
further development of our subject we shall see 
how the sodality of Our Lady, almost everywhere 
suppressed at the same time with the Society of 
Jesus, was transplanted to flourish and produce 
blessed fruit beneath English skies. 

We have now seen the work of Father Leonius 
approved and recognized by the supreme Head 
of Holy Church, and extended with the Society 
of Jesus to the utmost limits of the earth. It is 
time to look more closely at the good which 
it accomplished. 

1 An Abridgement of the Rules of the Sodality of our Blessed 
Lady under the Charge of the Society of Jesus at Saint Omers, 
1726. 

2 "Of her ancient dowry," see Waterton, op. cit. p. 17. 



(Efje £?0&aitttes ttt tfje Colleges 95 



CHAPTER IV 
Cfje Satialtttfs in tfje Colleges 

TT was in the colleges that the sodalities took 
*■ their rise, and it is there that we should first 
study them and ascertain their influence upon 
Christian education. It is shown by experience 
that young people feel the influence of their com- 
panions more readily than that of their teachers. 
It is difficult for masters to divest themselves 
altogether of an air of authority in their inter- 
course with their pupils. But authority often 
arouses prejudice ; it presents itself to the mind 
of the young man with a more or less repulsive 
aspect; he is unwilling to submit to its weight or 
allow himself to be moulded by it. Far more 
efficacious is a good example or a wholesome 
word coming from an equal. His companions 
leave him free play — liberty to act or not as he 
pleases ; they do not pretend to impose their own 
course upon him as a rule, or even to offer it as a 
model. And in this way he is the more easily 
persuaded, and adopts their line of conduct with- 



96 £fjc Safcalittcg of tfye Blesscti Uivght 

out fully realizing the impulse which he obeys. 
Is it not, then, an element of success in education 
to profit by this natural tendency of youth, and to 
give pupils an opportunity of guiding one another 
in the right wav ? 

It was one of the best features of the sodalities 
that they helped to form, in the colleges, a nucleus 
of young men penetrated with a spirit of piety, and 
a love of duty, and generously devoted to all that 
constitutes the strength and beauty of the Chris- 
tian life. Though they were numerous enough to 
counteract the influence of any unsuitable mem- 
bers, they were carefully chosen and thoroughly 
tried, with the view of forming a select troop, 
more worthy of praise for quality than numbers. 
Besides, they aspired to an aim too lofty to be 
consistent with indiscriminate admission into their 
ranks. While the majority of men are satisfied 
with fulfilling what duty absolutely exacts, the 
clients of Mary vied with each other in zealous 
imitation of their heavenly patroness ; guided by 
the sentiment of love rather than by fear, they 
aimed at perfection, at that holiness of Christian 
life realized in the most perfect of creatures. 

Such was the spirit of the sodalities. " It is 
desired," says the first of the general rules, " that 
the associates should be distinguished for their 
devotion to Mary ; that they should strive by a 



Z\)t ^Dualities in tfje Colleges 97 

pure and irreproachable conduct to copy in their 
own lives the eminent virtues of which she has 
given them the example ; that, animating one 
another in her love and service, they should 
endeavor to kindle in their hearts an ardent 
desire of increasing the glory of her holy name." 

The influence of the members of the sodalities 
upon their fellow-pupils was due to two causes : 
first, their virtue and eminent piety won for them 
respect and consideration, and besides, they 
usually distinguished themselves in their studies. 
But talent and merit inspire no less esteem in 
college life than in the world. The history of the 
Jesuit colleges offers frequent examples of the 
superiority of the associates over their compan- 
ions in the same classes. It is stated in the 
Lettres Annuelles, that at Mayence, and at Pont- 
a-Mousson x they took all the prizes, and the 
writer adds that the same thing frequently hap- 
pened in the other colleges. Numerous cases are 
mentioned where young students, under the pro- 
tection of the Blessed Virgin, gained unexpected 
successes, and where talents, long dormant, had 
been aroused to a remarkable development.' 2 Such 
is the natural fruit of piety. One great advantage 
which it secures is that, by withdrawing youthful 

1 Litt. Ann. 1589, Mogunt. 1596 Mussipontan. et passim. 

2 Ibid. 1594, Herbipol, 1600, Mclshem. 1613, Biturigense Coll. 



98 €\}t Soualtttes of tfje SSksseU Ftrgtn 

minds from vice and from dangerous interests, it 
gives them that repose and serenity which are in- 
dispensable for study. And again, by disciplining 
the will to overcome frivolity and inattention, it 
renders the mind capable of more concentrated 
and fruitful effort. 

From their origin in the Roman College, the 
sodalities, as we have seen, had a practical object, 
secondary, it is true, to their principal end, but 
closely connected with it. This was advancement 
in study. In persuance of it, literary reunions 
were established. In these modest circles, formed 
everywhere in accordance with the Ratio Studio- 
rum, the members stimulated one another, and 
sometimes produced literary compositions that 
cost much labor, while at other times they exer- 
cised themselves in improvisation, criticism, or 
discussion. These academic labors were usually, 
if not always, employed upon religious or pious 
subjects, as the praises of the Blessed Virgin. The 
dramas which they produced in public on some 
special occasions, were usually of a religious char- 
acter. The plot was often some mystery in the 
life of our Saviour, or perhaps a remarkable fact 
in the history of the Church, or an edifying in- 
cident in the career of some Saint. 1 

1 We subjoin the titles of a series of dramas played at the College 
of Anvers, according to the manuscript history of that institution ; 



£lje &0&aitttes in tfjc Colleges 99 

The college sodalities, besides furnishing an 
element of education, favored works of zeal and 
Christian charity. We have given proofs of this 
in regard to the first sodality of the Roman Col- 
lege. It would be easy to multiply them, and to 
show how associates of the upper classes assisted 
according to their opportunities in the religious 
instruction of poor children in the cities and vil- 
lages. In many colleges, catechetical work was 
organized. In Rome, 1 for example, they went 
about the streets on holidays, and gathered the 
unemployed people in squares, to instruct them in 
the truths of faith. Others brought ignorant chil- 
dren to church to teach them the catechism, and 
the secular priests gave a friendly reception to the 
youthful apostles. At Anvers, a sodality was 
formed among the pupils, having for its particular 
object the religious instruction of the ignorant. 2 
The following are the simple terms in which the 

Theodosius pcenitens, Sancta Barbara, Adolescens impoenitens, 
Sancta . Elisabeth, regina Hungarian ; Jonas, Sanctus Aloysius, 
Sanctus Franciscus Borgia, Isaac Angelus, Sanctus Ignatius, 
Sanctus Ambrosius, Sapor, rex Persarum, Mordochceus, Sinica 
persecutio. The Theatriim Solitudinis Asceticce of Father 
Lang and the Theatriim Asceticnm of Father Neumayr, and of 
Father Gachet, give us a very edifying idea of these pious repre- 
sentations. (Cf. DE BACKER, Bibliotheqne des Ecrivains 

s.J.) 

1 Lit. Ann. 1596, Coll. Rom. 

2 Precis hist 'or -iques, Mai, 1882. 



ioo SHje &otJaltties of tfje ISkssefc Utrgin 

young supporters of this work expressed its pur- 
pose ; they are drawn from the register, which is 
still preserved in the Jesuit College : " In taking 
our walks, we have often noticed that among the 
country children there reigned, instead of the fear 
of the Lord, great disorder, a habit of blasphemy, 
and a deplorable ignorance of the divine pre- 
cepts ... As members of the Sodality of the 
Blessed Virgin, and so, anxious to improve every 
occasion of doing a good work in her honor, we 
decided sometimes to go to instruct these children, 
and teach very simply — which is all we can do — 
what a Christian needs to know for his own sal- 
vation : — the whole in honor of God, and of our 
Patroness the Blessed Virgin Mary." Under the 
direction of a zealous and prudent master, nothing- 
is impossible to generous-minded youth. The 
sodality of the young catechists of Anvers con- 
tinued its operations, even after regular prepar- 
ation for first communion was established in that 
city, through the efforts of the Jesuits and of the 
secular priests. 

The number of cities where the young students 
interested themselves in catechising poor children, 
is considerable. This will seem less strange if we 
remember that, in the seventeenth century, prepa- 
ration for first communion was not made with as 
much care as the clergy bestow upon it at present. 



Z\)t ^oUaltttcs in tije Colleges 101 

The custom of making the occasion itself a public 
solemnity is of comparatively recent date. 1 

It is easy to imagine how these humble mani- 
festations of zeal would strengthen the piety of 
the students and develop the germs of an apostolic 
vocation. According to the testimony of Pope 
Benedict XIV., who had himself belonged to the 
sodality of the Roman College, " a great number 
of young men in the sodalities, thanks to the affec- 
tionate devotion they had early conceived for the 
Mother of God, rose to the most sublime degrees 
of charity. Some, generously abandoning the 
perishable goods and pleasures of this world, 
sought a holier state of life, and gave themselves 
entirely to the work of their own perfection and 
the salvation of souls. Others, walking from their 
earliest years in the way of innocence and piety, 
under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 
have preserved to the end the blamelessness which 
befits a disciple of Jesus Christ, and a servant of 
Mary, and merited final perseverance as the crown 
of their good example." 2 

These words of Benedict XIV. have an especial 
application to certain sodalities which were formed 
in imitation of the one at Ingolstadt, established 
by the venerable Father Jacob Rem. The aim of 

1 Precis Hist., Avril, 18S4. 

2 Bulla aurea : " Gloriosae Dominae." 



102 GTije & Dualities of tfje Blessed Utrgtn 

this association was so elevated that a contempo- 
rary said, "'It is not a man who conceived this 
work; it was inspired or dictated by air angel." 
Such a name was not wholly unsuited to the 
venerable Father himself, so angelic was the 
purity of his life, which had never been stained by 
mortal sin. To gain a conception of the loftiness 
of this work, let us try to trace the idea of it, as 
it must have been formed in the heart of the holy 
priest. 

As it came from the hand of God, all creation 
bore the stamp of the divine beauty, and God 
found it worthy of His omnipotence. He pro- 
claimed that it was good. But in this creation 
there arose a monster alien to God, and ready to 
annihilate Him, if it were possible. God must 
repel and hate this enemy as much as He loves 
the work of His own hands. This monster is 
evil ; it is sin, the source of all the disorders and 
all the ills which have rushed like a torrent over 
humanity. Since its irruption the world has been 
like an invaded kingdom, like a violated sanc- 
tuary. 

Sin has obscured the work of God, as sombre 
night veils the firmament. But, as brilliant stars 
delight our eyes in the midst of the darkness, so 
from this overclouded earth shine forth, in the 
sight of God, some pure souls, who, by virtue of the 



Z\)t ^otialittes in tfje Colleges 103 

redemption, have rent off the gloomy veil of sin, 
and sparkle with the rays of sanctifying grace. 
On them the divine glance rests with joy. They 
alone are pleasing to the Creator, and for their 
sake He delays to punish the abomination of sin 
in the masses of mankind, as He would have 
spared guilty Sodom for the sake of five righteous 
men, could they have been found there. 

How precious, how beautiful in the sight of 
God must a soul be that is decked with the charms 
of grace ! To guard and guide souls whose inno- 
cence pleases God, to multiply the number of the 
children of God, — such is the sublime end of the 
great work of Christian education. In Catholic 
institutions there is always to be found a chosen 
number of young people who have never stained 
the robe of their baptism, who preserve unsullied 
the innocence of their souls, or who have regained 
it if lost, and who guard it under the divine pro- 
tection of the sacraments. Doubtless the eye of 
man does not always distinguish these souls with 
certainty. Like the young man in the gospel, who 
had kept all the commandments, and whom the 
good Master regarded with love, they are unno- 
ticed by the crowd. But God knows them, God 
loves them, and the sight of them arrests His 
avenging arm, already raised to strike the guilty. 

Let us imagine a group of young men, pene- 



104 &ty ^ofcalittes of tfje iSlcsscti Ftvgttt 

trated and animated by these lofty considerations, 
who resolve firmly to keep their souls pure from 
sin, and who employ prayer, the sacraments, the 
influence of word and example, and especially the 
service and imitation of Mary, as the means to this 
end. Will they not be the most precious jewel in 
that crown of honor which encircles the brow of 
the Immaculate Virgin ? 

The foundation of such a sodality had become 
an absorbing idea with the venerable Father Rem. 
In his view, perfect devotion to Mary should con- 
sist in serving her by an immaculate purity. He 
desired to form a gathering of true children of 
Mary, among whom there should not be a single 
soul stained with sin. 

Only those were received who had been pre- 
viously consecrated to Mary in some other sodal- 
ity of the college. On their entrance, after a 
month's probation, they bound themselves to a 
life which should be not only edifying in the sight 
of their companions, but of the strictest interior 
purity and sanctity. Weekly confession, frequent 
communion, pious conversations and meditation 
furnished them abundant helps to perseverance in 
their sublime purpose. 

Their rule excluded from all privileges and in- 
dulgences any who might be living in a state of 
mortal sin. By the very fact that a member had 



Z\)t ^otialtttcs in tijc Collrgrs 



lost sanctifying grace, he ceased to share in the 
spiritual favors of the sodality until the moment 
of his return to God. 

We may not lightly tax this design of the ven- 
erable father with* indiscretion, or regard it as the 
result of a pious but unpractical simplicity, for it 
received the highest possible approval. The Sov- 
ereign Pontiff, Paul V., by his brief of Jan. 5, 
161 5, indorsed this pious association and granted 
it special indulgences. 1 It is true that it encoun- 
tered much adverse criticism, but it maintained 
its position, and produced fruits of eminent holi- 
ness. 2 

In several colleges the most devout members 
of the sodalities, thus united themselves in the 
profession of a more fervent piety, and a closer 
imitation of the virtues of Mary. They ordinarily 
placed themselves under the protection of Mary 
Immaculate, thus rendering homage to the spot- 
less purity of their Mother, and supplying an 
additional safeguard to their own chastity. Is 
not this beautiful virtue the most precious treasure 
of the young and the earnest of all other virtues ? 
They bear this treasure in a fragile casket, but if 
they would preserve it intact, is it not under the 

1 Der ehrwiirdige P.Jacob Rem, already quoted. Book I. chap. 
II. § 4. 

2 Kropf, Hist. prov. S.J. Germanice suJ>erioris, pp. 94 et 195. 



106 £i)e ^dualities of tije ISlesseti Utrgtn 

protection of the Blessed Virgin that they should 
place it ? How touching was that inspiration of 
a father in the college at Namur, who, about the 
year 1670, invited select members of different 
sodalities to form a special association to obtain 
from God the gift of angelic purity ! 

They fortified themselves every week with the 
bread of angels, and celebrated with great devo- 
tion the feasts of the Blessed Sacrament and of 
the Mother of God ; * so as to have constantly 
before their eyes the mirror of justice and holiness 
on which they wished to form their souls, they 
recited every day the little office of the Immac- 
ulate Conception. Who can tell us with what joy 
the Queen of Heaven and the celestial court 
looked on so many thousands of children and 
young men, who at the reunions of fervor, as they 
were called, kept their souls pure for eternal life? 
and, far from defiling them with the contact of 
earthly things, ornamented them with all the vir- 
tues and beauty of grace. 

1 The rules approved of by the Bishop of Cambray were printed 
in 1680, at Namur. See De Backer, Bibliographie : Namur. 



E\)t £otialtttes outsttre tfje Colleges 107 



CHAPTER V 

Cfje Sodalities outsttre tfje Colleges 

"PO serve God under the protection of the Blessed 
* Virgin Mary, keep our faith and piety in the 
world, of which Our Saviour Jesus Christ con- 
demned the spirit and bad works, fulfil the duties 
of our state in life in fortifying ourselves with the 
example and encouragements that we meet in a 
reunion of sincere Christians, give ourselves up to 
some works of charity corresponding with our 
means, — this is, in a few words, the end pro- 
posed by the different sodalities in the world. 

Piety is useful and obliging, said Saint Paul ; 
it is not then to be wondered at to see numerous 
works of charity and mercy originating from the 
pious assemblies of which we are sketching the 
history. There would be no end if we did not 
purposely limit ourselves to citing only a few of 
the examples of the different kinds of apostleship 
that they undertook. 

Let us first speak of those in Rome ; nowhere 
will we better find the spirit which animated them, 



io8 2H)e £otiauties of tfje BkssctJ Utrgtn 

and the broadness of views which their directors 
took. 

In 1593 a sodality of noblemen was formed 
under the direction of the venerable F. Marcello 
Mastrilli, who was martyred forty years afterwards 
in Japan. A century after, it could pride itself on 
having more than ninety of its members elevated 
to the dignity of the cardinalate, and among these 
princes of the church, six who occupied the chair 
of Saint Peter: Urban VIII., Alexander VII., 
Clement IX., Clement X., Innocent XL, and In- 
nocent XII. Its principal work was to settle 
disputes : among the impetuous spirits of the 
south, quarrels and deadly feuds were not rare ; 
so the associates of the Sodality of the Assump- 
tion exerted themselves to honor the Queen of 
Peace by reconciling enemies. To accomplish 
this object they divided amongst themselves the 
sixteen quarters of Rome, and their truly Chris- 
tian influence produced such good results, that 
the parish priests contented themselves, as soon 
as a difficulty arose, with reporting the case to 
them to restore peace in the family. 1 The sodal- 
ity kept a register in which were inscribed the 
pardons granted in the name of Mary. 

The following year two were formed for the 

1 H. S. part V., Book XVI., no. 32. Litt, Ann. 1593, Dom. 
Prof. 



£fje ^otialitics nutsttre tfjc Colleges 109 

working people ; one for the masters, and one for 
the journeymen, in a short time the latter increased 
to two hundred. To the regular approaching of 
the Holy Table, to the pious pilgrimages made to. 
gether, and to the weekly works of penance, were 
added visits to the hospitals. They divided 
amongst themselves the numerous hospitals of 
Rome, and on Sunday they took pleasure in 
bringing to the sick, together with the consola- 
tions of charity, modest gifts, fruit and dainties, 
which were always received with delight. These 
zealous works were rewarded with special graces ; 
some distinguished themselves in the service of 
their masters, by their correct morals and by their 
example of industry, some were drawn to a more 
perfect life ; in one year, ten of these young men 
embraced the poor and austere life of the Capu- 
chins. 1 F. Aquaviva, to stimulate the zeal of the 
young F. Simon Franco, their director, yielded to 
him a part of the Roman College. 2 The sodality 
of the Nativity devoted itself to consoling and 
ameliorating the lot of prisoners. The cardinals 
and the Pope encouraged this work of mercy, and 
sent to the children of Mary help to encourage 
their generosity. Every month they procured for 
the prisoners a great feast, on the day on which the 

1 Litt. Ann. 1594, Dom. Prof., H. S. part V., book XVI., 33. 

2 Op. Patrignani, I. 241. 



no £Jje Botraltttcs of tije 33 less e& Ftrgm 

general communion united them. This was the 
character of the sodalities at Rome, and it did not 
differ in other parts. Let us content ourselves 
with citing the work of a few of the branches in 
Spain, Italy, and the northern countries. 

At Cordova, the sodalities interested them- 
selves in the poor prisoners, who were easilv 
exposed to be unjustly punished for the want 
of means to plead their cases. Two members, 
one a priest, one a lawyer, went every week 
to the prisons to look after cases still un- 
decided ; * others gathered together, on certain 
days, from four to five hundred beggars and 
vagabonds, and brought them to the church 
of the Society, to prepare them for confession. 2 
Seville, a considerable commercial port in the 
past, saw established in 1608, a sodality com- 
posed entirely of lawyers, who undertook to 
plead their cases for the poor and for strangers, 
and despatched them without cost. They settled 
many a dispute, thus avoiding legal entangle- 
ments which would often last very long. 3 Sodali- 
ties of the same kind were founded at Milan, 
Naples, 4 and other places. Those of Naples 
were the most celebrated and the most varied. 
Father Spinelli 5 in 1613, counted fifteen. The 

1 H. S., Part V.,- Book XVI., 34. 2 Litt. Ann. 1592, 1609. 
3 Litt. Ann. 1592, 1609. 4 H. S. 161 7, 7. 

5 Maria Deipara. thronus Dei, chap, 40. 



£fje iSo&alittes outsttre tfje Colleges 1 1 1 

confraternity of the Purification devoted itself to 
the reform of the galley-slaves and the conversion 
of the Moors, Turks, and Ethiopians, and brought 
them together by hundreds to instruct them and 
prepare them for baptism and liberty. In the 
space of seven years, three hundred of these 
wretches renounced their deeply-rooted supersti- 
tions. Cardinal Bellarmine and Pope Paul V. 
took a great interest in this work of devotion. 
The associates of the sodality of the Nativity, 
mostly fathers of families, contributed large sums 
secretly to save from shame and misery families 
fallen by reverses in business. Schoolmasters — 
Naples counted three hundred — united under the 
protection of Mary to learn to devote themselves 
to the ungrateful work of education : this proved 
the beginning of a marvellous renovation of piety 
among the young. The author also mentions the 
sodalities of the sailors and fishermen of the 
suburb of Chiaia, of merchants, workingmen, and 
especially of clerics, of whom we shall speak 
afterwards. Four years later he could have 
added the sodality of Our Lady of Mount Car- 
mel, a strange and admirable institution, which 
made, of a receptacle of vice, a home of virtue, 
and changed a prison, a den of guilt, into an 
edifying retreat. The sweet Virgin Mary, who 
never abandoned sinners, and whose goodness 



ii2 £Hfje Sotraltttes of tfje 23Icsseti Utrgttt 

ought never to suffer any one to despair, loved to 
form a court of devoted servants in the midst of 
those justly condemned by human laws. It is of 
these that a pious writer truthfully said: "You 
ask me what miracles the sodality has performed ? 
I give you my word that it resuscitates the dead : 
men who had passed years in sin, victims of sting- 
ing remorse, have found, in the sodality of the 
Immaculate Virgin, the grace of God, pure lives, 
and the peace of a good conscience." l 

The sodalities of France were no less varied 
nor less active. Father Crasset, who for a long 
time governed the Professed House of Paris, 
tells us that at the meetings, which took place* 
every fortnight, a delegation of four or five mem- 
bers was formed to distribute alms at Notre 
Dame, at the Hotel-Dieu, to the modest poor, and 
to the prisoners. 2 At the novitiate in the Fau- 
bourg Saint Germain there met an assembly, 
who prided themselves that amongst their mem- 
bers were the princes Ferdinand and Charles of 
Lorraine, and several other distinguished per- 
sonages. But besides these two sodalities re- 
served for the rich, there were two others for 
their servants, " so that, when accompanying their 

1 Le Chef d'CEuvre de Dieu, by Binet, S. J., 3d part ? chap. 
XVI. 

2 Des Congregations de Notre Dame, Paris, 1693, reedited by 
Father Carayon in 1863, page 158. 



Cfje iso&alttteg outsiUc tfje Colleges 1 13 

masters, instead of idly waiting for them during 
the two hours that the meetings lasted, they also 
had the occasion to perform the same devotions 
in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary." 1 It was 
thus that the zeal of the directors made them all 
to all, according to the expression of St. Paul, to 
gain all to Jesus Christ and to His Holy Mother. 

But we would expose our readers to the an- 
noyance of monotony, if w r e were to enumerate 
the annals of the host of sodalities spread over 
Europe, Asia, and America, by simply relating or 
mentioning their works. Let us content our- 
selves with stating two advantages which thev 
obtained, and of which the importance was con- 
siderable. 

We may say that the frequentation of the sacra- 
ments is the measure of fervor and piety in the 
church ; for they are the nourishment of the soul. 
Outside of this divine source of grace, there is no 
Christian life; on the contrary, this life is 
strengthened and becomes fruitful, as often as it 
is thus refreshed. Now, for one who remembers 
the condition of the church in the sixteenth cen- 
tury, and the weakening of the faith that heresy 
had more or less caused in every country, it is 
easy to conclude that, outside the Easter com- 

1 Des Congregations de Notre Dame, Paris, 1693, re-edited by 
Father Carayon in 1863, page 83. 



ii4 BTftt Sofcalittes of tfje iSlesscti Ftrgttt 

munion, the iise of the sacraments had fallen into 
decay. 

The rules of the sodalities which recommended 
monthly communions, contributed wonderfully to 
re-establishing Christian fervor in this respect, and 
from the sodalities this pious practice became the 
custom of the faithful. In fact, in 1616, 1 by the 
efforts of the sodality of the Assumption, the 
solemnity of general communion was begun in 
Rome: each month it was transferred to a 
different church ; the people were prepared by 
sermons on the reception of the great Sacrament, 
as they had been attracted by the decoration of 
the church in which extraordinary splendor was 
displayed. A special sodality was founded to 
take charge of the preparations for this monthly 
feast. The plenary indulgence which the Sov- 
ereign Pontiff granted was a powerful means to 
encourage the work, and little by little the sodali- 
ties introduced the custom in other cities. 

In Belgium, as attested by the annals of differ- 
ent colleges, it was the beginning of a constant 
increase in the number of communions. In the 
church of the Professed House of An vers this 
feast of Holy Communion on the first Sunday of 
the month attracted such numbers that the 
eucharistic bread was given to eight thousand of 

1 H. S. parte V., 'lib. XVII., 45. 



£f)c ^otialtttes outsttre tfje Colleges 115 

the faithful ; 1 in the church of Saint Francis 
Xavier, at Bruges, from sixty thousand in 1639, 
the annual number of communions rose to one 
hundred thousand in 1650, and to two hundred 
thousand in 1675. 2 

The pious custom of the forty hours' adoration 
was instituted in 1556, by Father Mortagne, at 
Macerata, in Italy, 3 and at the same time it would 
appear that Father Joseph, a capuchin of Milan, 
introduced it in the latter city : 4 it was propagated 
by the zeal of the sodalities, and spread all over 
the Catholic world. It was but natural that the 
servants of Mary should unite their efforts to ex- 
piate the licentious rout of the carnival, and fight 
against sacrilegious profanations with arms of 
prayer. 5 In 1599, the city of Louvain saw Justus 
Lipsius, then Prefect of the sodality, take up this 
practice, and, giving the example to his brethren, 
remain for hours in adoration before the Blessed 
Sacrament. The associates, after having, at the 
beginning of Lent, joined in this act of reparation, 
met again, towards the end of the season of pen- 

1 Annates Antwerpienses, du P. Papebrcch, IV. p. 352. 

2 Notice Historique surl'Ancien College des Jesuites a Bruges, 
dans les Annales de la Societe de TEmulation de la Fiandre, 1884. 

3 H. S. Part I. book XIV. 10. 

4 Chardori, Histoire des Sacrements, 1'Eucharistie, chap. 13. 

5 Hist., MS E. Coll. Lovan., Archives du Royaume de Belgique, 
No. 772. 



1 1 6 £ijc Sotifaltttcg of tfje Blcsscti Utrgttt 

ance, to honor the passion of Our Lord during the 
night of Holy Thursday. 

It was at Rome, however, that the forty hours' 
devotion was celebrated, since 1593, with parti- 
cular pomp, the expression of the peculiar piety 
that animated the Sodality of the Assumption. 
Frederick Ccesio, Duke of Aqua-Sparta, who was 
the Prefect, wished to give the people a public 
manifestation which, until then had been only of 
a private character. He obtained the permission 
of the Sovereign Pontiff, Clement VIII., to transfer 
it to the church of the Professed House. This 
beautiful temple adorned for the occasion, at the 
expense of the associates, was visited, during the 
three days of the carnival, by all the pious confra- 
ternities of the city; the Pope himself celebrated 
Mass there, and granted special indulgences to all 
the faithful who joined in the adoration and the 
communion of reparation. 

If we add to the general communion every 
month, and to the forty hours' devotion, the solem- 
nity with which the associates celebrated the day 
of their patron saint, and the principal feasts of the 
Blessed Virgin Mary, we can have an idea of the 
good the sodality has done in the Catholic world. 
Have not the children of Mary reason to be happy 
and proud, in thinking of so many works of zeal 
and of piety established by their predecessors ? 



Z\)t ^Qualities outsttie tfje (Colleges ny 

It is also a very laudable custom which was in- 
troduced into many sodalities, every year to conse- 
crate several days to meditation on the great 
truths which are the foundation and the support 
of Christian life. In the midst of the world, 
where one goes astray seeking temporal happi- 
ness, and so easily loses sight of the only road to 
true and lasting happiness and eternal salvation, 
there is danger of fervent Christians falling away. 
The sodalities offered, it is true, powerful means 
against the seductions of the world in the regular 
meetings ; one can see, however, that it was neces- 
sary to offer to the clients of Mary an opportunity 
to refresh their fervor by a course of special exer- 
cises undergone in retreat. In this retreat, which 
was generally made before the feast of their 
patron saint, to prepare them for the renewal of 
their act of consecration, the associates applied 
themselves, according to the expression of Scrip- 
ture, " to scrutinizing their ways ; " remembering 
that there are broad and flowery paths before them, 
but that they are too far from the narrow path 
which the Saviour recommends, and they applied 
themselves to entering courageously into the one 
which opens to us the liberty of the children of 
God. They met twice, and even three times a 
day, to listen, not to eloquent sermons, but to 
practical and useful instructions, to meditate them- 



ii8 Vqi So&aitttes of tfje IS lessen Virgin 

selves on the subjects proposed, so as to make 
personal resolutions. Can it not easily be be- 
lieved that these retreats of men, by the grace of 
God, and the protection of Mary, should have borne 
marvellous fruits and formed good Christians ? 
They gave to more than one country those valiant 
generations of Catholics really worthy of the glo- 
rious name, of which Cardinal de Bausset wrote x 
at the beginning of this century : " It is still re- 
membered in the principal commercial cities, that 
never were there more order and tranquillity, more 
honesty in business transactions, fewer failures, 
and less depravity, than when the sodalities ex- 
isted ; the Jesuits had the talent of interesting 
in them all the professions, and all the social in- 
stitutions ; they endeavored to keep in all the 
states the regularity of morals, the spirit of sub- 
ordination, the wise economy, which preserved 
peace and harmony in the families, and assured 
the prosperity of empires." 

1 Life of Fenelon, Book I. 



&0toaiitteg of Priests 1 19 



CHAPTER VI 
Sodalities of priests 

AS the Blessed Virgin is the mother of all the 
virtues, Christian piety also recognizes in her 
the mother of the virtues proper to the priesthood. 
The Queen of the Apostles and Doctors, she is 
also the model of the great sanctity which God 
demands of his priests; she is the mother and 
foster-mother of the apostolic zeal which ought to 
animate their hearts. How natural it was that 
the sodalities should welcome in their midst those 
whose high vocation made the devotion to Mary 
more specially necessary to them. 

We have said before that priests in large num- 
bers, and even religious, inscribed their names in 
the sodalities of Cologne, Saint Omer, and An- 
vers. The Latin sodality of the latter city was 
usually honored with the presence of the canons 
of the cathedral ; 1 at Bruges the sodality of the 
elite counted a great number of ecclesiastics ; 

1 Precis Historiques, 1882, April-June. Les anciens Congrega- 
tions de la ville d'Anvers. 



120 STfje ^otiaitttcs of tlje BIcsscti Ftrgtn 

several bishops inscribed their names on its regis- 
ter or accepted the title of prefect. 1 It was the 
same in other places. Those who in the fervent 
reunions of the college had shown their love to 
the Blessed Virgin, at the same time that they had 
developed the germ of their vocation, did not re- 
nounce the glorious adoption with which they 
were honored ; and tried, when possible, to frequent 
some sodality of the city where they exercised 
their holy ministry. 

In the cities where the clergy were numerous, 
it was even possible to establish sodalities exclu- 
sively for ecclesiastics. 

At Louvain the students of theology who, until 
then, had been united to those of law, constituted 
themselves into a separate sodality in 1608, under 
the title of the Immaculate Conception. There 
were generally more than a hundred on the rolls, 
and for thirty years they had as their director the 
zealous and learned Becanus, professor of Holy 
Scripture at the theological college of the society. 
By the ardor of their devotion to the Blessed Vir- 
gin, and by the practice of pious reading, pro- 
cured for them from a special library, they pre- 
pared themselves to become one day ministers of 
the gospel as pious as they were learned. 2 In 

1 Notice sur Pancien College des Jesuites a Bruges. 

2 Hist. Soc. Jesu. Lovan, MS., Archives du Royaume, No. 772. 



So&alttteg of priests 121 

161 1, twelve canons and some other priests of 
Cologne inaugurated a new sodality, which soon 
numbered forty members, and increased the zeal 
of the priests in defending the Catholic faith. 1 It 
continued during all the seventeenth century. 

In the same year, at the college of Naples, 
under the title of the Assumption, was founded 
the sodality of clergymen, about the organization 
of which Father Spinel li has left us useful infor- 
mation. Two years after its foundation, it counted 
four hundred members ; the flower of the secular 
clergy and fourteen bishops inscribed their names 
and assisted at the meetings as often as their 
duties allowed them. 

Father Pavone, who had undertaken this work, 
directed it until 1637, and had the consolation of 
seeing it extend to different cities of the kingdom. 
It was continued by his brethren. It is known that 
Saint Vincent de Paul introduced a similar work 
in France in the same year, 1637. 

The object of the clerical sodalities of Naples 
was twofold. First, to form devoted and indus- 
trious pastors, for which purpose the younger 
members met once a week in the afternoon, to in- 
struct one another in the art of preaching, teach- 
ing catechism, and advancing the faithful in the 
service of God. The object of the Sunday meet- 

1 Reiffenberg, Historia, S. J., ad Rhenum Inferiorem, No. 467. 



122 GTftc Sotialtttcg of tJje 33Usseti Virgin 

ings was higher. The more select among the very 
devout, who, after a few days of spiritual exer- 
cises, offered themselves in a special manner to 
Mary, and who, under the name of Oblates, sought 
to promote the glory of God, met again on Sunday 
evenings to give themselves up to practices of 
humility and mortification, to examine their con- 
sciences, and perform other works of piety. Every 
six months they renewed their offering of them- 
selves to the Blessed Virgin, after having prepared 
themselves for this act by a few days of retreat 
and a general confession. 

The fruits of sanctity which this pious confra- 
ternity produced in the city and diocese of Naples, 
were such as everyone can readily suppose ; it is 
useless to speak of them at length. 1 Is not the 
piety of the Catholic people influenced by the 
priest who governs them ? " As is the priest, so are 
the people,' 7 is a maxim consecrated by experience 
and by the history of the Church. In the ordinary 
course of things, bishops and priests sincerely 
devoted to the Virgin of Virgins, and, united by 
a community of views, necessarily succeed in form- 
ing their flock to the practice of Christian virtues. 

The sodalities of priests founded in Spain de- 
serve our special attention ; they justly claimed 
the honor of having worked ardently to maintain 

1 Spinelli; op. cit. page 570, chap. 40, No. 16. 



Sotialtttcs of priests 123 

and propagate the Catholic belief of the most 
glorious of Mary's privileges, her Immaculate 
Conception. It is not within our scope to enter 
into the causes which seemed at one time to 
menace that belief so dear to us. 1 The Sorbonne 
in France, "the University of Louvain, the King of 
Spain, by a decree of 1456, had solemnly affirmed 
it ; the fathers of the council of Trent admitted it 
almost unanimously, and the Order of Saint Fran- 
cis professed and defended it with an unflinching 
constancy. The Society of Jesus, according to a 
revelation made to the lay-brother, Blessed Al- 
phonsus Rodriguez, had received the mission to 
protect against her detractors this greatest glory 
of Mary ; 2 its zeal for the accomplishment of this 
work communicated itself to the socialities. In 
every country it founded one under the title of 
the Immaculate Conception, and we can easily 
believe that the celebration of this special feast, 
made with the accustomed solemnity, was not 
without reviving and maintaining everywhere 
belief in this privilege of the Virgin. That of 
Lima, in Peru, composed of a hundred priests, 
presided over by the archbishop, prolonged the 
feast of the Immaculate Conception for an en- 

1 Malou, l'lmmaculee Conception de la Bienheureuse Vierge 
Marie, vol. II. chap. XIII. 

2 Natalis, De ccelesti conversatione, part 2, chap. 7, § 1. 



124 ^ e Sodalities of tfje Blrsseti Firgin 

tire week. 1 Towards 1616, the whole of Spain 
exerted itself, and began to oppose with an irre- 
sistible ardor the current which was carrying away 
some bold minds from the common belief. At the 
Professed House of Seville, there was a sodality 
of priests under the invocation of the Immaculate 
Conception. The canon Vasquez de Leca, one of 
its most fervent members, 2 thought that the best 
way to stop the controversy among the theologians 
would be to have recourse to the authority of the 
chief pastors. He therefore collected letters from 
the bishops testifying the faith of their flock, and 
presented himself at the court of Philip III., to 
beseech him in their name to take in hand the 
defence of the Catholic faith. During these ne- 
gotiations the sodality of Astige joined that of 
Seville, and made a vow to defend the glorious 
prerogative unto death. An embassy was sent to 
Rome, which obtained a decree prohibiting the 
public denial of the Immaculate Conception. The 
universities of Alcala and Evora, and all the 
academies of learning in Spain and Portugal, did 
not cease, after that first step, to excite against 
their adversaries the common feeling of the faith- 
ful towards the privilege of Mary ; it was certainly 
not from a lack of ardor on their part that the 

1 Nadasi, Annales Mariani, 347, EL S. 1619, 183. 

2 H.S. 1616, 130. 



Sodalities of Priests 125 

Holy See did not then define as a dogma a truth 
which was believed by the Catholic world. One 
day, at Seville, a preacher dared to utter a doubt 
on the common belief. Father John Pineda had 
hardly heard it when he called the people around 
his pulpit, and, in an earnest extempore discourse, 
glorified Our Lady with so much eloquence that 
applause broke out on every side, and eighty 
thousand crowns were immediately collected to 
raise to the glory of Mary a trophy, on which was 
inscribed : " The Blessed Virgin was conceived 
without sin." 1 Spanish piety understood that 
one cannot refuse to the Mother of God any glory 
at all compatible with the nature of a creature. 
" De qua natus est Jesus, of whom was born 
Jesus." "Meditate on this simple clause," said 
Saint Thomas de Villanova, " and you will under- 
stand what favors you must attribute to it." 

We might appropriately add to this chapter 
another institution, to which a sodality of the 
college Louis-le-Grand gave birth ■ we will follow 
the narrative of M. Laquet, a member of the Con- 
gregation of Foreign Missions. 2 

Encouraged by the advice of Father Bagot, 
their director, several students, already members 

1 Nadasi, No. 850, ad ann. 1637. 

2 Lettres a l'eveque de Langres sur la Congregation des Mis- 
sions JStrangeres : Paris, Gaums, 1842. 



126 Cij£ ^otJalittes of tijc Blcsscti Utrgtn 

of the sociality, about the year 1650, formed a 
more particular society, whose object was to give 
itself up to works of zeal and charity among the 
poor of the city, as well as among their fellow 
disciples of the college. As the love of God, and 
absolute self-denial of all which is not self, were 
the only link which united them, all that they 
possessed was in common. They established 
themselves in the Rue St. Dominique. This was 
their status when Father Rhodes, the great mis- 
sionary of Tonquin, arrived from Rome, and pre- 
sented himself at the college of Clermont. Provi- 
dence seems to have guided him, and to have put 
him in communication with the director of the 
first apostles called to the great work of the foreign 
missions. Father Bagot introduced to him his 
young associates, and spoke to him of the zeal 
with which they entered into all that could procure 
the glory of God and the good of their neighbor. 
Animated as they were with these sublime views, 
they, on their part, beheld with as much admi- 
ration as emotion, a religious who had renounced 
his country, crossed the seas, and courted martyr- 
dom for the salvation of souls. Anxious to hear 
from the mouth of the apostle himself an account 
of his w r orks and of his sufferings, they begged 
Father Bagot to procure for them the happiness of 
a second visit from the missionary. Father 



jSotjaltttcs of priests 127 

Rhodes gratified their wish. The enthusiasm, 
and the desire for martyrdom which inflamed 
their hearts, and the resolution they took to leave 
all for the gospel, appeared to him to be inspired 
by grace. He could not help saying, as he left, 
" I have just found in these young men better 
dispositions than those I have sought in the semi- 
naries." 

It may be said, adds the author whose narra- 
tive we are transcribing, that it is the impression, 
so vivid, and at the same time so deep, made at 
these interviews, which nourished and fortified in 
the souls of these young associates, gave rise to 
the establishment of the Seminary of Foreign 
Missions. It is in these pious assemblies, and 
under the protection of their peerless Patroness, 
that they received the grace which was given 
them, to go and preach Jesus Christ to the hea- 
then. They were like a little branch, from which 
has sprung a tree great in the number of Bishops 
and Vicars Apostolic, that have been chosen from 
among them, for the- East and for the West. 



128 &fyz Sotialtttes of tfje Blessed Utrgtn 



CHAPTER VII 
^Examples of J^olmrsg in tfje Sofcaltttrs 

"THE practice of spiritual and corporal works 
* of mercy, as also of all the Christian virtues, 
highly recommended our pious confraternities. 
We cannot, however, even entertain the thought 
of relating all the edifying examples contained in 
our annals. They would find a better place in 
a separate historical notice, if they were known as 
the acts of persons whose real names are on rec- 
ord. The anonymous, unfortunately, takes away 
a great deal of their interest, but it will not be 
amiss to bring to mind the memory of some well- 
known sodalists, who, rising to eminent sanctity, 
have merited to be employed in great works of 
God for the salvation of souls, or who have de- 
served the consideration of the Church to such 
a degree, that she has proposed them for our 
imitation in authorizing their public veneration. 
In the first part of this history we have mentioned 
several saints, or those beatified, who have propa- 
gated or favored the sodalities. 



Examples of holiness in ^otialtttes 



After Fathers Leonius, Costerus, and Rem, 
after the venerable Edmund Campian, Bl. Peter 
Canisius and St. Charles Borromeo, let us first 
record the angelic John Berchmans, the paragon 
of students. The authors of his life 1 show him 
to us, at the College of Malines, so zealous for 
the honor of Mary that his example and his words 
drew several of his schoolmates to be admitted 
among the number of the privileged children of 
the Blessed Virgin, while he himself, to be more 
agreeable to his Mother, worked with a holy so- 
licitude to perfect himself. This excellent young 
man applied himself seriously to his education. 
At the beginning of every. month, he went to the 
director of the sodality to learn from him what 
fault he had most to correct, what penance to 
impose, and what pious exercise to perform in 
honor of Mary and his patron for the month. 
Everyone knows with what devotion he made the 
pilgrimage to Notre Dame de Montaigne, which 
had then begun to be celebrated for its miracles. 
It was not, it was said, the least of her miracles to 
have caused such an angel to appear in mortal flesh. 
Every day he renewed his act of consecration to 
Mary. It was to her intercession that he attri- 
buted all the graces that the Lord had granted 
him, and in particular the precious boon of his 

1 "The Rev. Father J. Elides," by A. Ledore : Paris, 1869, 
page 154. 



130 £i)c SotJaltttcs of tf)E Blesseti Utvgtn 

religious state. But as he also felt a sacred jeal- 
ousy for her honor, he signed with his blood the 
promise to defend unto death the prerogative of 
her Immaculate Conception. After this angel of 
purity, whom heaven envied the earth, and whom 
the Queen of Angels called to her celestial court 
when still very young, another son of Mary must 
be mentioned, who, about the same period, after 
having acquired the noblest virtues in the sodal- 
ity, was chosen by Providence to found a school 
of apostleship. John Eudes, as the author of his 
life relates, in 16 15 entered the Jesuit college at 
Caen, and it was not long before he was admitted 
to the sodality of the students, whom he served 
as a model. It was especially in this saintly com- 
pany, so well calculated to preserve the innocence 
of young men, that he conceived his tender attach- 
ment and devotion to the Mother of God. At the 
age of fourteen he made a perpetual vow of chas- 
tity, and, after having united himself forever to the 
Most Pure of Virgins, he omitted nothing that 
could testify to her his devotion. Nay, he did 
not pass a single day without showing her some 
proof of his piety, following, in this, the example 
of the holy apostle whose name he bore, and to 
whom Jesus, in dying, recommended his beloved 
Mother ; so entirely did he live only for her honor, 
and that of her Son. 



Examples of holiness in jco&altttcs 131 

" I know a servant of God " — he wrote later in 
speaking of himself — " who had received from His 
Divine bounty a number of graces through the in- 
tercession of the Blessed Virgin ; one cause of his 
happiness was, that he had been a student at the 
Jesuit College, and had been admitted into the 
sodality of the Blessed Virgin, where Our Saviour 
showed him great mercy by means of his Holy 
Mother." The long career of the venerable John 
Eudes was worthy of this auspicious education ; 
he bequeathed to the Eudistes, whom he had 
founded in 1643, tne spirit of apostolic zeal and 
the devotion to Alary which had rendered his 
works so fruitful. 

He was not the only founder of an order whose 
glory was reflected on the sodality ; Saint Francis 
de Sales, Prefect of that established at the col- 
lege of Clermont, the Blessed Peter Fourrier, 
founder of the Canons of Our Saviour, M. Olier, 
founder of Saint Sulpice, M. de Montfort, founder 
of the missionaries of the Holy Ghost, and others 
gloried in having imbibed in the sodalities their 
tender love for Mary. 

At the college of Fribourg, towards the end of 
the sixteenth century, there lived a young student 
who by his literary success was the pride of his 
classes. A fervent and exemplary member of 
the sodality, still flourishing, as in the time 



132 STfje SolJaitttes of tfje Blcsscti Firgm 

of the Blessed Canisius, the young man practised 
in this school of piety all the strong solid virtues, 
which alone can guarantee, later on in life, the 
best-tempered characters against the shock of the 
world. Arrived at the age when it was time to 
decide on his profession, he prayed fervently to 
God, and decided to study law. The spirit 
of mortification and self-denial seemed sufficient 
to preserve him from the attacks of evil. As his 
modesty had procured him the esteem of every- 
one, several noblemen of Suabia asked him to be 
their guide in a journey they undertook to the 
principal cities of France, Spain, Germany, and 
Italy. Having begun it under Heaven's protec- 
tion, the tour was successfully accomplished ; on 
their return to their homes, after six years' absence, 
the companions of the saintly member of the so- 
dality paid homage to his virtues and to the zeal he 
had shown for their instruction as well as for their 
pleasure. Advanced to the Doctorate of Laws, he 
became the attorney of the poor, and the in- 
vincible defender of justice. It was this virtue so 
often exposed to violation even among Christians, 
that merited him a grace which was to be the 
source of many more. Irritated by an injustice 
aimed at his honor, he renounced the dangers of 
the legal profession to follow a more noble career, 
the voluntary and apostolic poverty of the Capu- 



Examples of holiness in Sooaltttes 133 

chins — the world praised Fidelis of Sigmaringen, 
who had become the advocate of the cause of 
heaven, and the minister of God, and remained 
so until the day when a glorious martyrdom 
crowned his humble but powerful ministry. The 
Church has graced him with the honors of her 
altars. 

The Sodality of the Roman College boasts of 
counting amongst its members two more illus- 
trious clients of Mary. The Blessed Leonard of 
Porto-Maurizio, who towards 1689 followed the 
course of this celebrated college, was the model of 
its sodalities. The authors of his life tell us that 
the young Leonard attended all the pious exer- 
cises of the meetings with great edification ; he 
went with fervor to celebrate the feasts which 
were observed by the different sodalities, and in 
particular loved to visit the oratory of Father 
Gravita, commonly known by the soubriquet of 
Caravita. It will be remembered that in this 
oratory, erected under the protection of the 
Blessed Virgin, 1 the most fervent of the brethren 
assembled on Fridays to honor the Passion of 
Our Lord by prayer and corporal penances ; 
strange as it may seem to our delicate natures, 
this practice still exists in defiance of the spirit 
of the word, like an eloquent protestation in 

1 H. S. 1616. n. i_j, 1623. n. 5. 



134 ^ c ^atiaiittcs oi tfje Blcsscti Ftrgin 

favor of the folly of penitence and of the cross. 
Is it not here, perhaps, that the Blessed Leonard 
began his tender devotion to Jesus suffering ? 
He was the most zealous propagator of the holy 
exercise of the Way of the Cross ; his love for 
Mary, Mother of Sorrows, was equally great. 

John de Rossi, whom the reigning Sovereign 
Pontiff has latterly raised on our altars, was, during 
his course at the Roman College, a member of 
the sodality of the Scaletta. The Director, who 
esteemed his great virtues, made use of him to 
effect much good among the scholars ; but it was 
especially during the vacation that the Blessed 
John availed himself of his influence to turn them 
from evil and the fatal results of idleness. He 
joined with them in innocent games, and agree- 
able amusements, and taught them to take plea- 
sure in relieving the sick, helping the poor, and 
encouraging the working-men in their hard day's 
labor. This noble love of devotion to the service 
of the unfortunate, animated his whole career. 
Having become a priest in 1721, he consecrated 
to them his fortune and his life, and it is by this 
exercise of sacerdotal charity that he reached his 
high degree of sanctity. 1 

We might further mention other saints who 
have frequented or directed the confraternities of 

1 Butler, Lives cf the Saints, May 23. 



Examples of holiness in Botialitics 135 

the Virgin Mother ; we might give the names of 
youths whose pure and innocent lives have been 
bequeathed to the remembrance of their brethren 
of the sodality, in biographical notices, 1 although 
there was not then the same eagerness as now 
to proclaim the virtues of the deceased. We 
will limit ourselves to a few names, justly honored 
in the history of the Church, who reflect credit 
on the work of the socialities. 

Cardinal Frederick Borromeo, the worthy succes- 
sor to the name and archbishopric of his holy uncle, 
Charles, succeeded him also in his attachment for 
the servants of Mary. He had for a long time 
been the example of the sodalists of Bologna. 
Penetrated with the sentiments of piety which he 
had imbibed in the confraternity, he wished to 
establish several in his diocese ; he formed one of 
young people whom he called " Children of Our 
Lady," and caused to wear a medal with this 
inscription : Monstra te esse matrem ; and another 
one of older men, who, having more authority, 
promised to honor the mother of God by repri- 
manding all those whom they heard using 
immodest words. The fruits of these were visible 
in the cities where they were established. He 

1 Le Parfait Ecolier, 011 Vie de Phirieurs Etudiants, Amiens, 
Carron, 1805: De vita Arnaldi Boreti. Senatoris Tolesani, Possino, 
Paris, 1639. 



136 £fye &otialtttcs of tfjc Blessed Utrgm 

established a third one, of which he was the 
head and director, and which he called his secret 
fraternity, the first rule of which was to pro- 
test openly and manfully when they found them- 
selves among persons licentious enough to mock 
or speak against the devotion of the Blessed Vir- 
gin. 1 This holy prelate on his deathbed forbade 
that any mausoleum should be erected to him ; 
but he ordered that he should be buried at the 
foot of Our Lady, and that this simple inscription 
in Latin should be put on his tomb : — 

FREDERICUS, CARDINAL1S BORROMiEUS 

ARCHIEPISCOPUS MEDIOLANENSIS 

SUB PRESIDIO B. MARINE VIRGINIS 

HIC QUIESCIT IN PACE. 

Vincent Carafa, of the ducal family of Andria, 
after having been in his youth a sodalist of the 
Annunciation at Rome, later on directed the cele- 
brated sodality of the Nativity at Naples. The 
author of his life 2 has given us, in his naive and 
quaint style, most edifying details of the zeal of 
the holy director. 

" Father Vincent was at first surprised at the 

1 Crasset, Des Congregations de Notre Dame, edition Carayon, 
page 165. 

2 The life of R. F. Carafa, 7th General of the Society of Jesus. 
. . . Done into French by Th. LeBlanc, S. J., Liege, MDCLIIL, 

page 76, 389. 



lEiamples of holiness in Sooaltttcs 137 

pitiable state of this sodality, which was before 
so flourishing in number and in the practice of 
virtues, whereas now it was so dwarfed and di- 
minished that it could hardly be called a body, 
and its devout exercises were almost discontinued 
. . . which often happens in communities where 
there are few people: because, as live coals, if 
there are many together, kindle one another and 
each one burns in the fire of all, and when there 
are a few, they go out little by little, so men incite 
one another when in great numbers, and grow 
cold, and chill one another when in small num- 
bers. . . . But it pleased God to help the enter- 
prise, and after having put the mind of the father 
at ease, to draw thence great profit for souls and 
for his glory. . . . Having placed his hope in the 
Lord and in the Blessed Virgin, he accepted the 
charge, and said to himself, ' In future one must 
think only of God and the sodality.' He per- 
suaded himself to work for these gentlemen in 
such a way as to make them all saints. So every 
time that the Father who had been given him as a 
companion in this office, came into his room to 
speak to him on any topic, he received him with 
these words, which came from his heart: 'What 
news from the sodality ? Are those gentlemen 
becoming saints ? ' Not only the number but 
their fervor increased, and, what is more remark- 



138 Wqz ^otialtttes of tlje Blegseti Utrgm 

able, he employed no artifice in seeking or inviting 
them : the renown alone of Father Vincent, and 
the desire to have a saint as a master and spiritual 
father, attracted the crowds, and this was the 
secret of his success. 

" Having thus reconstructed the confraternity in 
the point of numbers, it was not long before he 
could restore it to the original works of charity, 
principally the weekly visit on Tuesdays to the 
hospital for incurables. . . . Father Vincent was 
always the first and served as an example to all in 
the practice of virtue. . . . 

" Having firmly re-established the first obser- 
vances, he began to add others; and the work 
confined to his care answered the expectations of 
his zeal." He often thought of the account he 
would have to render to God of these young men, 
" each of whom would have made a family holy, 
and all together a city, if they could have had a 
director who could have made them saints." 
Father Carafa was elected General of the Society 
of Jesus in 1647. 

Might we not here mention the celebrated mis- 
sionary of Naples, Saint Francis de Geronimo, 
and of the modest but holy sodality of mechanics 
which he directed toward the end of the seven- 
teenth century ? " You are the chosen flock which 
Providence has confided to my care," he said to 



Examples of holiness in ^otialitics 139 

them, " henceforth I am yours." Those were 
not useless words. When, at the meetings on 
Sunday morning, these good working-men saw the 
Saint in the presence of the Victim on our altars, 
when they heard him make the usual exhortation, 
they felt penetrated with the same ardor. He 
interested them in his missions ; he made use of 
them for the salvation of souls ; he made them 
zealots, and they were called " the Brothers of the 
Missions." It was like a holy legion always at 
war with the devil, going everywhere by order of 
their admirable director, calling the negligent to 
the instructions, gathering hearers around the 
cross in some public place, preaching by example, 
penance, and humility, and deriving from their 
zeal the beginning of their own progress. But 
we must conclude, and refer our readers to the 
history of the celebrated apostle of Naples. 1 

After this roll of saints, of whom some have 
been formally recognized as such by the Church, 
would it be rashness to mention an emperor whom 
a contemporary, without any intention of flatter- 
ing, called the new Constantine, greater by his 
virtues than by his high position ? Without wish- 
ing to put him on the same level, \et us recall this 
illustrious servant of Mary whom the sodality of 

1 History of S. Francis de Geronimo, by Father Julien Bach, 
Metz, 1867. 



140 £fye <£ Dualities of tfje iSlessetJ Utrgtn 

Louvain gloried in having inscribed on its regis- 
ter, and who counted among his titles of honor 
that of being a member of the sodality. 

When Ferdinand II. was still only King of Hun- 
gary and Bohemia, he made this entry with his own 
hand in the book of that sodality : "Anno Domini 
1618, die septima novembris, Ferdinandus, Unga- 
riae Bohemiaeque Rex, archidux Austriae, Sodalis 
Beatissimae Dei Genitricis Virginis Mariae, scripsit, 
sub cujus praesidio se semper commendat." 

On becoming emperor, he desired to sign a 
second time, in this his new position, that he was 
a member of the sodality of the Virgin Mother, in 
order to show the world that he esteemed this 
title as highly, as any that accrued to him from 
the most splendid crowns of the universe. His 
son, in his turn, also enlisted under the standard 
of Mary, and his successor, Ferdinand III., signed 
this beautiful pledge of devotion, which has often 
been reproduced, and which claims mention here 
in honor of the Blessed Virgin : — 

Illius ego ccetus sub invocatione tua Congregati, 

Augustissima MARIA, 

Me libens et merito unum profiteor* 

tlbt ego me meosque, conjugem ac liberos, 

TlBI ROMANUM IMPERIUM, CUI DEUS ME PR/EFECIT, 

TlBI Regna A MAJORIBUS ACCEPTA, 

TlBI TUTEL.^QUE TUtE POPULUM ET EXERCTTUS MEOS s 

TlBI TUOQUE FlLTO MILTTANTES, 

COMMITTO. 



Examples of holiness tit ^otJaitttcs 141 

TU ME IN TUUM ADMITTE, 

Qui Filio tuo, qui Tibi, qui utriusque honori 

Vivo, regno, pugno, 

tuus igitur ego ero, 

MARIA, 

TUI ERUNT QUICUMQUE MET, 

TUA ERUNT DITIONES ET REGNA MEA ET IMPERIUM, 

TUI POPULI ET EXERCITUS. 

TU EOS PROTEGE, Tu EIS VINCE, 

TU IN EIS REGNA ET IMPERA, 

Ita voveo, 

MDCXL. 

tuus pietate et justitia, 

Ferdinandus. 

u With joy and with justice, I profess myself a 
member of the sodality formed under Thy invoca- 
tion, Most August Mary. To Thee I commit my- 
self and mine, my spouse and my children : to Thee 
I confide the Roman empire, over which God has 
set me, and the kingdoms which I hold from my 
ancestors : to Thee do I commend my people and 
my armies, who combat for Thee and Thy Son. 
Receive me, then, as Thine own, who live and 
reign and battle for Thy Son, for Thee, and for 
the honor of you both. Thine, therefore, shall I 
be, O Mary ! Thine shall be all that are mine : 
Thine my domains, my kingdoms, my empire : 
Thine my subjects in peace and in war. Do Thou 
protect them, do Thou prosper them with victory, 
do Thou reign over them and rule them as their 



142 3H)e Sodalities of tijc 33leggeU l T tvgtn 

Sovereign. Witness my vow, this year of grace, 
1640. Thine by piety and by justice, 

Ferdinand." 

Has not Mary protected the illustrious House 
of Austria ? In the midst of the vicissitudes of 
greatness, has it not remained the most respected, 
the most venerated, and the most beloved ? May 
it always remain faithful to Mary ! Mary will 
reward and reciprocate its fidelity. 



persecutions anU Encouragements 143 



w 



CHAPTER VIII 
persecutions anti Encouragements 

E would astonish even the inattentive reader, 
if we represented the sodalities of the 
Blessed Virgin as going through two centuries 
without meeting the trial of contradiction. He 
would oppose to us the words of the great Apostle : 
"All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall 
suffer persecution." At least, he would say to us, 
they were subjected to the annoyances — were a 
target to the jests of the secular spirit, which piety 
does not escape and which it conquers easily if it is 
founded on faith ; nay more, it is scarcely possi- 
ble that they should not have had particular ad- 
versaries, if it is true that they instituted so many 
works of pious zeal, and formed Christians so de- 
voted to the Queen of Heaven. 

And, in reality, they were frequently the objects 
of persecution, and this for several reasons. We 
shall not dwell on certain local oppositions which 
do not concern the institution itself; as when 
F. Claudius Aquaviva had occasion to defend it, 
in 1596, against the suspicious minds of some 



144 ^ e &otJaitties of tfje BIcsseti Firgin 

ministers of Philip II. at Naples. 1 About the 
same time, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdi- 
nand I., allowed himself to be imposed upon by 
calumniators, and imagined that the sodalities of 
Sienna might endanger the union and equality of 
the citizens, because they separated the different 
classes of society, and so he exacted for some time 
that the nobles should be mixed in them with the 
people. 

There were more formidable enemies. We 
have seen above that the honor paid to Mary 
excited the implacable hatred of the heresy that 
appeared in the sixteenth century ; but what is 
our amazement when, in the seventeenth century, 
F. Crasset, the director of the sodality at Paris, 
tells us of certain secret enemies of the Mother of 
God, who murmured against her devoted children ; 
who devised plausible pretexts of order and regu- 
larity to turn the faithful away from the associa- 
tion. Were these heretics, Protestants ? No ; 
the pious writer would not have given them the 
answer which we find in his manual: ''It should 
be enough," he replied, " to represent to them 
„ that the Church, to whom alone it belongs to reg- 
ulate the duties of religion, has established these 
societies, approved them, enriched them with her 
favors, and proposed them to the faithful as a 

l H. S., part V., book XIV., 12. 



persecutions anU Encouragements 145 

very suitable means of sanctification." . . . As- 
suredly the authority of the Sovereign Pontiff 
little concerned heretics ; but to Protestantism 
there had succeeded, in France and in Belgium, a 
sect as wicked as it was crafty in concealing itself, 
of which the adherents, during a century and a 
half, succeeded, by artifices and even by hypocrit- 
ical homage, in evading religious authority, and 
in avoiding an ever-impending condemnation, — 
we mean the Jansenists. A daughter of the 
Reformation, she had inherited from her mother 
a marked aversion for the devotion to Mary. 
The pretexts that she brought forward to turn 
aside the faithful from the sodalities, were some- 
times the rights of the secular clergy, sometimes 
the spirit of moderation in the honor paid to the 
Blessed Virgin. 

He must have had eyes covered with a triple 
bandage of prejudices, who would dare to pretend 
that, by these pious unions, the Society of Jesus 
wished to diminish the legitimate authority of a 
pastor over his flock. Could the Jesuits, whose 
mission it was so evidently to vindicate the rights 
of religious authority and of the ecclesiastical hier- 
archy against the Reformation, be animated by a 
spirit of division ? The numerous priests, whom 
they saw so assiduous in attending the meetings 
of the clients of Mary, would never have dreamed 



146 &tyz Sodalities of tfye Blcsseti Ftrgtn 

of bringing up against them this odious accusa- 
tion. Their most hostile critics were men imbued 
with Jansenist principles, and as unfavorable to 
the devotion of the Blessed Virgin as they were 
to the privileges of the regular clergy ; the few 
rigorists who, at the end of the seventeenth cen- 
tury, and at the beginning of the eighteenth, 
harassed the Flemish dioceses, and refused to 
Mary the title of mediatrix or of Refuge of Sinners, 
raged against the devotion of the Holy Rosary 
and the sodalities, and widely disseminated a 
libel, worthy of Luther, which bore the title : 
" Salutary Advice of the Blessed Virgin to her 
Indiscreet Votaries." 1 

At Poitiers, in 1620, the bishop, Henri Chas- 
teignier, a learned and eloquent prelate, saw a 
storm rising against the regular clergy on the 
question of parochial rights ; he spoke himself 
with some bitterness against the sodalities, for- 
bidding the Jesuits to receive anyone in them 
without his authorization. They had no need to 
lay their cause before the Sovereign Pontiff, from 
whose decision there could be no appeal. The 
bishop relented, thanks to the remonstrance of 
a member of the parliament of Paris, sent by 

1 Cfr. Litt. Ann. MSC. Coll. Gandav., Archives de 1'Etat a 
Bruxelles, ad ann. 1674. Records of the English Province, S. J., 
Foley, XII., p. 210. 



13 executions arttr Encouragements 147 

the king, and ended by desisting from his de- 
mands. 1 

Other difficulties of this kind arose at different 
places. When, indeed, will calumny or exaggera- 
tion cease to throw themselves in the way of good 
works ? On the other hand, we are willing to 
grant that the zeal on the part of the promoters 
and directors of the socialities, cannot always 
have been free from imprudence and indiscretion. 
Does this prove anything against the work itself ? 
We could bring forward instances of divine jus- 
tice with respect to persecutors and slanderers of 
the sodalities. Father Crasset recounts several, 
relating, among others, the unhappy death of 
some sodalists who were unfaithful to their first 
fervor, and who, after having abandoned the ser- 
vice of the Blessed Virgin, fell into forgetfulness 
of God and of their duties as Christians. We 
prefer to omit these details, and to recall facts 
more important. 

Certain parliaments of France rejected those of 
their members who had been enrolled as children 
of Mary. But the piety of Louis XIII., anxious 
to destroy with one stroke several accusations 
brought against the confraternities and sodalities, 
issued at Lyons a decree dated October 16, 
1630: "It is our wish and pleasure," he said, 
1 H. S. 1620, 93. 



148 &\)t&Q^a\itm of tfje Blesscti Ftrgtn 

"that, in spite of the challenges which we hereby 
declare frivolous and impertinent, and which we 
desire to be declared as such by you, you pro- 
ceed to business without suffering similar ones 
to be proposed." * Sodalities had been formed 
in France in the garrisoned cities. During a 
whole century they did not seem to menace 
danger to the valor of the armies ; the old Mar- 
shal d'Ornano, Viceroy of Guienne, induced his 
officers and his men to enroll themselves in them ; 2 
like Conde and Turenne, he believed that piety 
was a spur to military courage and the love 
of duty. After the great reign and the great 
conquests of Louis XIV., the Jansenist party 
clamored that the sodalities were a peril to the 
army. The regent, believing 3 that it was neces- 
sary for him to treat the Jansenist reaction with 
caution, decided that the matter should be brought 
before the council. In the session of the 19th of 
July, 17 16, the reunions of soldiers presided over 
by a Jesuit, were interdicted. The Fathers obeyed 
without demur, and all their sodalities were dis- 
banded. They had conformed without resistance 
to the orders of authority ; but the Jansenists pre- 
tended that this compliance was a trick and a 

1 Binet, Le Chef d'CEuvre de Dieu. Edition Bouix, p. 538. 

2 Binet, Op. cit. p. 537. 

3 Cretinau-Joly, Histoire de la Compagnie de Jesus. 



persecutions anU Encouragements 149 

trap, and they persuaded the regent that his will 
was evaded. Marshal de Villars, who had con- 
secrated himself to Mary in the confraternity, 
could not restrain himself from exclaiming : "Who 
are the rash men that dare to utter such slander? 
I have in my possession the answers of the 
generals and governors of our fortifications ; all 
affirm that the orders of the king are strictly ful- 
filled." Then, addressing himself to his col- 
leagues, he continued: " As for me, gentlemen, I 
acknowledge, that as long as I have been at the 
head of our armies, I have never seen soldiers 
more active, more prompt to execute my orders, 
more fearless than those who belonged to the 
sodalities so much accused to-day.'' 

But while Jansenism, encouraged by this first 
success, pursued with vigor its malicious schemes 
and its systematic attacks upon the Society of 
Jesus, the latter received for its work of predilec- 
tion the reviving encouragements of the Holy 
See. Aroused by the assaults to which the con- 
fraternities were exposed, and by his own experi- 
ence acquainted with the spirit which animated 
them, the illustrious Pope Benedict XIV. pre- 
sented them in 1748 with glorious testimonies. 
Not content with enriching, them by his bull 
of April 24, Prceclaris jRomano?'um, with new 
spiritual favors, and in particular with the indul- 



150 £i)c ^otralittcs of tfjc BlcssctJ Utrgtn 

gence of privileged altars, he issued, on the 27th 
of September, a remarkable bull, which, on 
account of its importance, had affixed to it the 
gold seal which the Popes only set on letters of 
a very solemn character : it is the golden bull 
Gloriosce Domince. 

Benedict XIV. begins by praising in magnifi- 
cent terms the glory of Our Lady, and her titles 
to the veneration of the faithful. A loving mother, 
whom the Saviour of the world, in dying, be- 
queathed to the Church, His spouse ; a queen 
victorious over heresies," a powerful Esther, an 
invincible Judith, she is besides the mystical ark, 
the channel of graces and the golden door of 
Heaven : " Full of these grand thoughts (says 
the Sovereign Pontiff), Saint Ignatius Loyola . . . 
convinced that he and his new legion would have 
to engage in severe battles, wisely judged that he 
could not find more certain help than in the pro- 
tection of the Blessed Virgin. . . . Therefore it 
was under her protection that he entered upon 
the road of perfection ; it is at Montmartre, in a 
chapel consecrated to Holy Mary, that he laid, as 
on a firm rock, the first foundations of his society. 
. . . Im the same manner, his children, in carry- 
ing across the boundless tracts of the land and of 
the sea the adorable name of Jesus, have not 
ceased to proclaim at the same time the honey- 



persecutions artti Encouragements 



sweet name of his divine Mother; and with the 
light of faith and the holiness of morals, have 
spread in all the countries of the two hemis- 
pheres the devotion to Mary, and have given to it 
a development that approaches the marvellous. 
Moreover, by a thought inspired by wisdom and 
realized everywhere, amongst other works of their 
society, which are all so useful to the church of 
God, they were active in enrolling youthful Chris- 
tians in pious sodalities or societies, dedicated 
to the Blessed Virgin, the Mother of our Re- 
deemer, and they consecrated the faithful to the 
honor and service of her whom the Holy Ghost 
calls the Mother of holy affections, of the fear of. 
God, and of true science ; thus helping them to 
walk towards the summit of Christian perfection, 
and towards the goal of eternal salvation. Thanks 
to this praiseworthy institution, where the fervor of 
each particular branch is upheld by wise and 
pious rules, adapted to the state of life of its 
members, and carefully maintained by the prudent 
and enlightened zeal of a director, one can 
scarcely believe what a salutary influence has 
been spread throughout all classes of society." 

Then, after having displayed the fruits of sal- 
vation received from this special devotion to Mary, 
the great Pontiff continues in these words : " From 
all that has preceded, it can be plainly seen how 



152 Wqt £ottaltttcs of tfjc 38kg*rtJ Firgitt 

wisely inspired were the Roman Pontiffs, our pre- 
decessors, in surrounding with their apostolic 
protection the work of the societies from its very 
beginning." To the favors granted by Gregory 
XIII., by Sixtus V., by Clement VIII., and by 
Gregory XV., he was then pleased to add new ones. 
" Finally," he says, " We, who, before being raised 
to Our present dignity, had been inscribed among 
the number of the members of the sodality in the 
Professed House at Rome, recall with joy having 
frequented, for Our greater spiritual consolation, 
the pious and useful exercises of the sodality of 
the Assumption. Moreover, judging it to be 
a duty of Our pastoral ministry to favor and to 
promote these institutions of solid piety which 
help to advance in virtue and contribute greatly 
to the salvation of souls, We have, by our brief of 
the twenty-fourth of last April, approved, con- 
firmed, and further extended the concessions of 
Our predecessors. To-day We would even more 
clearly manifest the interest that W 7 e bear for these 
pious sodalities, in which the religion which man 
owes to God, and devotion to the Blessed Virgin 
are practised by means of salutary and praise- 
worthy works of piety." 

With this intention the supreme head of Holy 
Church permits the sodalities, which have been 
established in the houses of the Society of Jesus 



persecutions aao Encouragements 153 



under any title or in honor of any saint, to be 
affiliated to the Prima Primaria of Rome, and 
to enjoy its indulgences, on the condition that 
they take for their principal patroness the Blessed 
Virgin Mary. He authorizes them, however, to 
celebrate the feast of their secondary patron, and 
grants them for that day a plenary indulgence, 
even in the case of the feast's having been trans- 
ferred by the Director. The Pontiff then dwells 
at length on the indulgences, and exhorts the asso- 
ciates to the faithful observance of the rules and 
to attendance at the meetings. Finally he de- 
clares that he cancels, in favor of the sodalities, all 
that he and Clement VIII. before him had estab- 
lished concerning the method to be followed and 
the forms to be observed for the foundation of 
confraternities. 

The encouragement given to the work so dear 
to the sons of Saint Ignatius by the Vicar of Jesus 
Christ, must have consoled them and animated 
them with a new ardor in the midst of the signs 
that foretold the storm which was to break upon 
them in France and in Spain. Three years after 
this bulla aurea, Benedict XIV. gave a new proof 
of esteem to the Society of Jesus by the brief, Quo 
tibi, dikcte Fill. It is the first pontifical document 
in which mention is made of the affiliation of 
women. The previous bulls did not exclude 



154 &J)e -Sb&alittcg of tfje Bksseti Utvgm 

them ; but it had not become a custom to found 
sodalities of women. Here and there an excep- 
tion might be noticed ; but the Generals of the 
Society, far from lending a hand, had usually 
answered attempts of this kind by a refusal of 
admission. 1 In those days of faith, when human 
respect had not made so many victims, preference 
was given to the spiritual direction of men ; but 
Philosophism, with its airs of independence, and 
its fine words of sovereign reason, and its boast 
of force of intellect, was about to rule over the 
higher classes of French society, and soon we 
shall no longer see the consoling spectacle of 
great enthusiastic assemblies of the civil authori- 
ties, of soldiers, and of gentlemen, begging the 
honor of ranging themselves under the banner of 
the supernatural. On the other hand, the share 
of women in the Christian education of children, 
and in works of zeal and charity, was to become 
greater and in some degree to take the place of 
the influence of men in the world. One might 
say that the Vicar of Jesus Christ foresaw our 
new times. 

We do not believe that this brief inaugurated 
many sodalities of women. Jansenism, then in 

l H. S. 1587, 4, — Litt. Ann. 1584, p. 47 — Multae haud semel, 
nee una in civitate contenderunt matronae ut ipsis quoque liceret in 
hujusmodi convenire ccetus : res nullo modo probata est. 



persecutions anti IBncourarfements 155 

power in France, did not in fact permit it. In 
1760 it suppressed all the confraternities ; three 
years later it dispersed the Jesuits. Spain, Portu- 
gal, and Naples did the same. The sect remained 
victorious in its secular struggle against the So- 
ciety of Jesus. Saint Cyran had written, a century 
before : 1 "It is of the utmost necessity to ruin the 
Jesuits if we wish to re-establish the Augustinian 
doctrine." Its enemies ruined them, but without 
ruining either truth or the Church. 

While the Jansenists and the ministers of the 
Bourbons, united their forces, against the sup- 
porters of the throne and the altar, and succeeded 
in having them exiled from two great Catholic 
nations, Clement XIII., in his bull Apostolicum, 
took the defence of the society in the name of 
Holy Church. Nevertheless, his apostolic cour- 
age did not save from an almost universal destruc- 
tion a religious order whose existence might be 
useful, but was not indispensable, to the preserva- 
tion of faith. Eight years later the Revolution 
had the joy of seeing it suppressed by a Pope, 
who had signed the brief of suppression in spite 
of himself. The Jesuits respected his misfor- 
tunes and fulfilled his orders. 

Saint iUphonsus Liguori, who assisted him at 
his last moments, and who was a witness of the 

1 La Secrete Politique des Jansenistes, 1667, P- 2I o- 



156 £f)e Sodalities of tfyc 33Irsscti Uirgin 

remorse of Clement XIV., left his testimony on 
the question of the sodalities, which we would 
fain reproduce in finishing this second part of our 
summary. In a treatise on the Virtues of Mary, 1 
he said : " The Sovereign Pontiffs approved them 
with great praise, and often enriched them with 
indulgences. Saint Francis de Sales, in his ' In- 
troduction to a Devout Life/ earnestly exhorts 
secular persons to become members. 

" What did Saint Charles Borromeo not do to 
found and multiply them ? In his synods, he 
positively directs confessors to urge their pen- 
itents to enter them. We ourselves, in the con- 
duct of our missions, have well understood their 
utility; speaking in general, we find more sins in 
one man who does not belong to the sodality, than 
in twenty who are active members." 

The Society of Jesus was to disappear every- 
where, except in schismatic Russia. 

In the next book we shall see whether or not the 
sodalities shared in their dissolution. 

l CEuvres Compl. Paris, 1835, torn. VI. p. 417. 



Z\)t £ooaltttes from 1773 to 1814 157 



Book III 

STfje Sodalities, of tije BlessetJ Utrgm in tjje 
Nineteenth (Eenturg 



CHAPTER I 

Ojc .Sodalities from tfje Suppression of tijc ^octets of 
3esus until its Restoration tn IS14 

TN the great disaster which befel the Society and 
* its apostolic and educational works, it pleased 
the Divine Goodness to spare the Primary Sodality 
of the Roman College. For more than a centurv 
the piety of its members had been lavish in decor- 
ating the chapel of the Annunziata. In this sanctu- 
ary, which is still admired to-day, the brush of Giaco- 
mo Cortese, surnamed Bourguignone, had added to 
the works of other illustrious artists four master- 
pieces, representing the great victories of Mary 
over the enemies of the Christian name. 1 In 

1 In memory of the Jubilee of 1884, Father Heijnen has just 
collected, in an album, photographic reproductions of the striking 
decorations found in this chapel 0; lh: Primaria. 



158 GTfje Sodalities of tfje Blcsseti Fir gin 

1761, Father Joseph Mazzolari, Director of the 
Primaria, had obtained for the Anmmziata an 
ornament more precious than all the marvels 
which already decorated it. It was a painting of 
the Mother of God, from the Catacombs. As 
early as the pontificate of Clement VIII., it had 
been detached from a wall in the cemetery of 
Saint Hermes, and, after having been preserved 
in the Kircher Museum, was dedicated in the 
chapel of the Primaria by Cardinal Charles Rez- 
zonico ; four years later, Cardinal Henry of York, 
archpriest of the Vatican Basilica, crowned it 
solemnly. The Holy Virgin, who had been 
honored in this picture by the martyrs of the first 
centuries, and who had protected the children of 
those illustrious Christians, was to see tears flow- 
ing from the eyes of the fathers and brothers of 
the Society of Jesus ; but she did not permit 
the children who had consecrated themselves to 
her to be dispersed, as were their Directors. 1 

After the suppression, as Father Mazzolari tells 
us, 2 all that was used for worship was removed 
from the Roman College ; the chapel of the so- 
dality alone remained intact. The Cardinals, 

1 Notizie Istoriche e Regole della . . . Prima Primaria, Roma, 
Salviucci, 1865, p. 13. 

2 Josephi Mariani Parthenii Epistolae. Rome, MDCCCLXIII ; 
p. 252. 



Z\)t £ooaItties from 1773 to ISU 159 

who were entrusted with the dispersion of the 
Society in Rome, hastened to confide the Pri- 
maria to the care of a zealous ecclesiastic, Pietro 
Antonio Vittene. 1 

Nevertheless, a difficulty soon presented itself 
in the shape of what the powers of the new direc- 
tor might be. Should he be the successor of the 
General of the Society in all his rights, and espe- 
cially in that of aggregating the new sodalities 
that would be formed ? This question presented 
itself for solution in 1775, a propos of the confra- 
ternity of merchants of the diocese of Constanza. 
The Cardinal-Vicar, Marco Antonio Colonna, by 
letter of May 2, claimed that right for him ; but 
at the Secretariate of Indulgences, objections 
were raised, and the power of affiliation was lim- 
ited only to associations of young men who had 
finished their studies. 2 Some irregular affiliations, 
as it appears, were made by the want of proper 
reference to the Ordinary, but these were rectified 
in July, 1789, by adding the necessary formalities. 
The zeal of Francis Xavier de Zelada, a former 
sodalist, and of Settimio Costanzi, the successor 
of Vittene, obtained a decided gain in 1798. 3 
With an extension of his powers that left nothing 

1 In the archives of the Primaria is preserved a commentary 
of his life in manuscript. Proto HI. 26. 

2 March 20, 1776, Archives of the Primaria. Proto IV. No 12. 

3 May 5th, Archives of the Primaria. Proto t\ t ., Xo 22, 23. 



160 Cfje ^otialtttrs of tfje 23lessc& IJtrgtn 

more to be desired, the Director of the Primary 
Sodality was authorized " in future to enroll all 
the congregations or sodalities of students or of 
persons of either sex, wherever they were, or 
wished to be erected." 1 

Another doubt was also removed as to the 
validity of the privileges formerly accorded to the 
Generals of the proscribed Society. The confir- 
mation of these privileges was obtained from the 
Sacred Congregation of Indulgences by the Pri- 
maria, on the 6th of March, 1776. Naturally the 
new decrees mentioned the necessity of securing 
the consent of the Ordinary ; for, since the sup- 
pression of the Society, the sodalities forfeited 
the exemption or immunity which they shared 
with the Order, and became wholly dependent on 
the bishops : hence the formula : de licentia ordi- 
narii. Besides, for the translation of the feasts 
of patronage, as well as for the application of in- 
dulgences /r# infirmis, the new summary of indul- 
gences required the consent of the bishop of the 
place, whereas, the summary of the 7th of Decem- 
ber, 1748, only made mention of the Jesuit supe- 
riors' permission : de superiorum suorum licentia. 

l "Sia transferita al Moderatore della Primaria l'arbitrio e la 
facolta d'ascrivere al queste, siano di scolari o di non studenti di 
qualunque sia sesso ed in qualunque luogo erette o da erigersi." — 
Notizie Istoriche, p. 11. 



Cfte £oDalttks from 1773 to 18X4 161 

On several points, it is easy to see, did the 
Primaria relax the ancient severity of its statutes. 
The spirit of poverry had so reflected itself in the 
rules, that the members were not permitted to 
come to its aid by any regular collection or ex- 
pense. The support of the devotion required 
pecuniary resources, and they had always been 
provided by the generosity of well-to-do members. 
In this point and other similar ones, the sodality 
finally modified its ancient usages, in accordance 
with the organization of other confraternities. 
However, the fervor of the members did not di- 
minish. We find a proof of this fervor in the 
devotion which, as it appears, Settimio Costanzi 
propagated with a special zeal. A series of re- 
scripts issued from 1798 to 18 16, grants them 
the special permission of celebrating every year 
in their chapel the proper Mass of the Sacred 
Heart of Jesus. 1 This devotion, the development 
of which was especially reserved to our century 
for the good of a countless number of the faithful, 
joined itself, in the natural order of things, to the 
veneration of Mary, as the latter is only a means 
by which to increase in the love and imitation of 
our Lord : for we cannot attach ourselves to this 
Divine Mother without at the same time attaching 
ourselves more closely to her Divine Son. This 

1 Archives of the Primaria, prot° X° 25, 30. 



1 62 GTlje Sodalities of tfje ISlessetJ Ftrgttt 

principle, which is fundamental in the devotion to 
Mary, must later have been that which inspired 
F. Fava (director of the Primaria in 1864), with 
the idea of forming a pious union against the blas- 
phemies of which our Blessed Lord is the object. 
Pius IX. was pleased to approve it, and to attach 
it canonically to the sodality, by his brief of 
Dec. 20, 1867, Maximas inter angnsiias} 

But while the Primary Sociality, the centre of 
all those found in the Catholic world, was sus- 
tained by the zeal of Vittene and Costanzi, out- 
side of Rome the work suffered severely from the 
dispersion of the Society of Jesus. Here and 
there, devout priests made efforts to maintain 
these pious unions : we are permitted, at least, so 
to believe from the testimony of copies of the 
rules, printed at Ingolstadt in Bavaria, Saint- 
Brieuc in France, at Bergamo, Venice, Brussels, 
and elsewhere. 2 The sodalities of Fribourg, that 
had been so efficient, happily sustained them- 
selves throughout the revolutionary period, under 
the direction of former Jesuits, until the time 

1 Direttorio della pia unione contra la bestemmia ed il parlare 
obsceno. Roma, Marini, 18 , 288 pp. 

2 Ingolstadt, 1775. Leges et statuta cum variis precibus ac 
excrcitiis congregationis B. Virginis Mariae, 16°. Heures de Saint- 
Brieuc a l'usage des congreganistes, 1780. — Regole e statuti della 
congregazione. Bergame, t 795, item Venezia, 1802. — Association 
en faveur des congreganistes de la Ste. Vierge, Bruxelles, 1780. 



GTfje Sodalities from 1773 to 1814 163 

when the Society was able to resume its labors in 
that city. The same thing occurred in the cities 
of Cologne, Aix-la-Chapelle, and a few others. 
In Namur l the Recollect Fathers took charge of 
and held in their convent the meetings of the so- 
dality of the Immaculate Conception. After 1796, 
Father Norbert, a Capuchin, and Father Donat, of 
the Recollects, occasionally called meetings of the 
members in different quarters of the city. But 
with the loss of the colleges of the Society, the 
greater number of the sodalities lost their place of 
reunion : and even those that reorganized them- 
selves, were hardly able to resist the trials that the 
clergy had to endure : the times became worse 
and worse, and the tempest that raged against 
altar and throne was felt in every Catholic land. 

In the midst of the general uprooting that 
began with the suppression of the Society of 
Jesus, the sodalities of Bavaria supposed them- 
selves suppressed with it ; but the prince-elector 
of the duchy wished to preserve them. Being 
himself a member of one of them, he appreciated 
their usefulness for works of piety and mercy ; 
and by an autograph letter addressed to the Pro- 
vincial of Bavaria on the 22d of June, 1771, had 
acknowledged the services rendered by them dur- 

1 Congregation de jeunes homines de Namur. Precis histo- 
riques, 1864. 



164 ^ e iSotiaittus of tfje Bksseti Ftrgtn 

ing the famine of the preceding year, and had 
thanked the Jesuits for the zeal and edification 
shown by them in their devotion to his subjects. 
He likewise wrote to Pope Clement XIV., and 
obtained 1 in April 1774, a brief in which the 
eight sodalities of the diocese of Freisingen were 
not only confirmed, but enriched with new indul- 
gences. . But for all that they were not spared 
from severe trials during the revolution and the 
wars of Napoleon: in 1802 the Baron de Mont- 
gelas, minister to Maximilian IV., commenced the 
work of secularization. The splendid sodality 
of Munich was among its first victims. Dis- 
possessed of its wealth and of its place of meet- 
ing (which has been recently restored), it was 
removed to the church of the Holy Trinity. 2 In 
1813, though greatly fallen from its ancient pros- 
perity, this sodality numbered 575 ecclesiastics, 
and 655 laymen. 

By a wonderful dispensation of Providence, the 
sons of Loyola, banished by Catholic princes, and 
sacrificed by the hand of Clement XIV., found a 
shelter in schismatic Russia, Catherine II., with 
a view of averting the complete destruction of the 
Society, prevented the pontifical brief from taking 

1 Feller, Historical and Literary Journal, 1775, I. p. 439. 

2 Sattler, Geschichte der Marianischen Congregationen in 
Bayern, pages 166, 177, et seq. 



Z\)z SoUalitics from 1773 to 1314 165 

effect in her vast empire : she even prohibited its 
publication. This step, it is said, did not dis- 
please the Sovereign Pontiff; soon after, Pius 
VI. issued a letter, Aug. 15, 1778, allowing the 
Jesuits of White Russia to open a novitiate. 1 
In the six colleges directed by the Society of 
Jesus in 1784, 2 the sodalities of the Blessed Vir- 
gin held the traditional place which had always 
been theirs in the work of Christian education. 
In Polotz a manual was published for their use. 3 
The English Jesuits of Saint Omer, after having 
been successively banished from France in 1763, 
from the Low Countries in 1773, and from Liege 
in 1794, found an assured refuge in their own 
country. The sodality of Stonyhurst justly prides 
itself on having surmounted the difficulties of the 
suppression, and of having had an uninterrupted 
existence since 161 7, as is proved by a document 
in its possession. 4 We have touching testimony 
of the zeal displayed by the fervent English 
sodalists for the conversion of their country. 
"Jesus, Jesus, convert Engl an di,fiat,ftat!" are the 
words which they repeat each day, and which we 

1 Feller, Journal historique, 17S5, vol. III. p. 280. 

2 Ditto, 1784, vol. II. p. 191. 

3 Polociae 1794. Leges et statuta congregationum B. Virginis. 

4 Pietas Mariana Britannica, by Edmund Waterton, F. S. A., 
Knight of the Order of Christ, p. 101. . . . Memorials of Stony- 
hurst College, London, Burns & Oates, 1881, pp. u, 40. 



166 GTije Sotiaiittrs of tije iSlesseti Firgtn 

find inscribed in the chapel of their country-house 
at Chevremont. They have at last found a foot- 
ing in that dower-land of Mary's, where the dawn 
of religious liberty had at last appeared, and 
where their prayers, and those of their successors, 
will undoubtedly hasten the full, bright day of 
Catholic faith : fiat, fiat! How many are the 
descendants of noble families and of martyrs who 
have inscribed their illustrious names in the re- 
gisters of this sodality under the title of " Servus 
Perpetuus Beatae Marias Virginis." " It is with 
joy and consolation," wrote the author of the 
Pietas Mariana Britannica some years ago, "that 
I recall those happy days when I was a sodalist 
at Stonyhurst. The chanting of the 'Hours of the 
Immaculate Conception ' seemed to me more full 
of melody than anything that has since reached my 
ears : could it have been that those who sang were 
' innocentes manibus et mundo corde V — ' unstained 
of hand and clean of heart.' Many have been 
the years gone by, many the friends that have 
died whose lips, now closed, once sang with me 
the praises of Mary, and nevertheless, even as I 
write these lines, an echo of what Dante calls 
- the soft accents of psalmody,' still rings in my 
heart. How sweet will be the remembrance of 
the day of consecration to Mary, when at the last 
hour will appear in the Book of Life that pure 



€\)t ^otialtttcs from 1773 to 18U 167 

and bright page on which will be inscribed our 
act of consecration ! When after having repeated 
it daily, when after having lived as worthv chil- 
dren of Mary, what will not the peace of our souls 
be when with a feeble voice, but still with a stout 
English heart, we shall say for the last time : — 

" l Maria, mater gratiae, 
Mater misericordiae, 
Tu nos ab hoste protege 
Et mortis hora suscipe. 1 " 

In the beginning of this century, a few faithful 
servants of Our Lady made use of the return of 
peace to reorganize the sodalities, but this re- 
organization was not always canonical : without 
direct connection with the Primaria of Rome, and 
without a new diploma of affiliation, the privileges 
granted by the Sovereign Pontiffs could not be 
enjoyed. The greater number of them finally did 
enjoy these privileges by securing a diploma 
when the Jesuits reopened their colleges. We 
have obtained the exact number of those who 
were thus affiliated between the years 1800 and 
1824, when the direction of these sodalities was 
held by the Jesuits ; 135 in Italy, 8 in France, and 
2 in England. 1 



1 Archives of the Primaria, Congregazioni aggregate, proto 
VIII. 



1 68 Cfje SotoaUttes of tfje Blesseti Uirgtn 

Let us borrow from Father Guidee 1 a few de- 
tails connected with the attempt of the restor- 
ation of the sodalities in France, and with this 
extract we shall have exhausted the subject of 
this chapter. 

Father Jean Baptiste Delpuits, formerly a 
Jesuit, was graciously received by the Archbishop 
of Paris, Mgr. de Beaumont, and offered a canon- 
ship in the collegiate church of the Saint-Sepulcre. 
After the Reign of Terror, this man of God, 
having before his eyes the spectacle of youths 
almost entirely deprived of spiritual assistance, 
conceived the idea of establishing a sodality. Six 
students of law and medicine, Buisson and Fiseau, 
Regnier, de Marignan, Mathieu and Eugene de 
Montmorency, composed the first nucleus. Car- 
dinal De Bellay, then Archbishop of Paris, ap- 
proved and gave his blessing to the work, which, 
considering the license and impiousness of the 
as:e, in a short time attained an extraordinarv 
success. These young men, untainted by the 
spirit of their age, and strengthened by the teach- 
ings of their venerable director, visited the hospi- 
tals which were deprived of the ministrations of 
religion, and used their influence in regaining 

1 Notices historiques sur quelques membres de la Societe des 
Peres du Sacre Cceur et de la Compagnie de Jesus, tome u, pp. 
22, 68. 



Z\)t &0fcaltttes from 1773 to 131.4 169 

their companions to regular habits, and especially 
in protecting from vice those newly arrived from 
the provinces. In the course of a few years, 
Father Delpuits could count in his sodality mem- 
bers who were later destined to honor the ranks 
of the episcopate, the peerage, the army, the forum 
and the field of science. 

In September, 1809, he had the great sorrow of 
seeing the meetings discontinued on account of a 
cloud in the political sky ; several members were 
arrested on the charge of having distributed 
divers briefs of the Sovereign Pontiff, Pius VII. 
He died in 181 1, on the octave of the Immaculate 
Conception. His children in Christ erected to 
his memory a modest tomb with this inscription : 

R. P. J. B. DELPVITS • SOC JESV • PRESBYTER 

DEO • DEVOTOS • AC • DEIPAR.-E • VIRGIXI 

INNVMEROS ■ VERBO ■ ET • EXEMPLO • ALVMNOS 

INFORMAVIT 

The work of the zealous priest, who, in the 
midst of this sad epoch, was able to form many 
servants of Mary, was not destined to die with 
him. Philibert cle Bruyard, later on Bishop of 
Grenoble, reunited its scattered members in 1814, 
and the Abbe Legris-Duval presided over their 
meetings in the private chapel of the seminary of 
Foreign Missions. 



170 £i)c Sodalities of tfje JSUsgctJ Uirgitt 



CHAPTER II 

&\)t ^Extension of tfje So&alities since 18U 

"PHERE was rejoicing in the city of Rome, 
* Cardinal Pacca tells us in his memoirs, 
when, on the 7th of August, 1814, Pope Pius VII. 
went to the church of the Gesii, and there pub- 
lished the bull for the re-establishment of the So- 
ciety of Jesus. " The Catholic world unanimously 
demands/' said the Holy Father, " that the Society 
be re-established ; we daily receive letters to that 
effect from our venerable brothers, the bishops. 
Placed as we are at the helm of the bark of Peter, 
we cannot refuse the offer that Providence makes 
us of these experienced oarsmen." 

The bull Sollicitudo omnium ecclesiarum recom- 
mends the surviving members of the Society and 
its new sons, to the protection of the princes of 
Holy Church and to sovereigns. Five hundred 
and fifty members of the society, who came from 
England, Russia, and the Low Countries, had the 
consolation of assisting at this ceremony, and to 
see realized a hope that not even the greatest 



Extension of tfje Botialitics since 1814 171 

calamities of the time had ever been able to 
quench. 

The Superior General of the order was unable 
to leave Russia, where for the last ten years he 
had governed the small band of the sons of 
Loyola. It was not until 1820 that his successor, 
Aloysius Fortis, established his residence in Rome. 
Four years later, Leo XL gave back to the 
Society the direction of the Roman College and 
of the Oratory of Caravita, and at the same time 
reinstated it in all the rights over the sodalities 
previously conceded it by the Holy See. This 
was the object of the brief, Cum multa i?i Urbe, 
issued on May 17, 1824. After recalling all 
that the society had done both in the field of 
letters and of piety, he surrendered to it the direc- 
tion of the Roman College and all its dependen- 
cies. "It is Our desire,'' added the Sovereign 
Pontiff, "that they should exert themselves in 
instructing and forming to virtue young men 
through the sodalities, as well as that they should 
care for the faithful who frequent their oratory. 
To this effect We decree that the Roman College 
be returned to them in all its integrity, and nota- 
bly the right of conferring degrees in the arts and 
in theology, which was conceded them by the 
letters apostolic of Julius III. and of Pius IV., 
and also the right of aggregating new foundations 



172 £fye Sofcaltttes of tfje BksseU Firgt'n 

to the sodality of the Annunciation, known as the 
Prima Primaria." l 

It was therefore after an interruption of fifty 
years that the Society of Jesus undertook again 
in Rome the work of the sodalities. This work, 
however, entered upon a new era. Until now it. 
had been confined exclusively to the houses of 
the Society and to the oratories dependent on it ; 
moreover, only associations of men and boys had 
been comprised. Under these two heads a radi- 
cal change took place, especially during the ten 
years that elapsed between the decree of the re- 
establishment and the brief of 1824. In fact, 
during these ten years the sons of St. Ignatius, 
finding themselves in numbers too small to found 
many colleges, and desirous, nevertheless, to see 
the sodalities of Our Lady revived, had given en- 
couragement to those that had sustained them- 
selves, and lent an active hand to the foundation 
of other sodalities, parishes, and in seminaries. 
Some of these had been erected without the inter- 
vention even of the director of the Prima Pri- 
maria. 

Father Aloysius Fortis, in order to put an end to 

1 Jura porro ac priviiegia Collegii romani, illaque prassertius 
quibus ex Julii III. et Pii IV. auctoritate, lauream in artibus et in 
sacrae theologian facilitate impertiri, pariterque congregationi An- 
nunciationis B. M. V., Primae Primariae nuncupate, aggregare 
datum est, integre perstare decernimus. 



lExtenston of tfje Sofcalittcs since 1814 173 

certain doubts that might suggest themselves as 
regarded these defective foundations, addressed 
a request to the Vicar of Jesus Christ, and in a 
private audience the Holy Father was pleased to 
grant him, on March 7, 1825, all the necessary 
powers to aggregate all the sodalities that were 
not directed by the Society, and that might ask to 
be so aggregated. This favor, though it in no 
way lessened the rights of the episcopacy over the 
foundation or erection of any association founded 
within the limits of their jurisdiction, was so con- 
siderable that at first sight it appeared in opposi- 
tion to the decree of Clement VIII. It might 
have been put in doubt had the terms of both the 
petition and the answer not been couched in the 
clearest language ; : moreover, the privilege was 

1 The petition was couched in these terms : " Luigi Fortis, 
prega vostra Beatitudine di poter aggregare alia Prima Primaria 
tutte le altre Congregazioni che no.n sono dirette dalla Compagnia, 
che il richiedissero, rendendosi in tal guisa la Pontilicia grazia com- 
prehensiva di tutte le congregazioni, come fu nel 5 maggio 1798, 
conceduta al Direttore pro tempore della praelodota Congregazione 
con benigno rescritto del sommo Pontihce Pio VI di s. m. que chi 
si umilia et come fu fino a questi ultimi tempi praticato dai respet- 
tivi Direttori della Prima Primaria." 

Ex audientia SSmi, die 7 martii 1S25. 

SSmus 5 attends expositis, remisit preces arbitrio ejusdem orato- 
ris P. Praep. Gen. Soc. Jesu cum omnibus facultatibus necessariis 
et opportunis. Contrariis quibuscumque non obstantibus. —(Card. 
Guerrieri.) 

These documents are preserved at the Professed House at Rome. 



174 ^> e ^otfaltttcs oi tfjc Blcssett Firgtn 

again and again confirmed. As we have said 
above, the Prima Primaria differs essentially from 
any other association or confraternity ; it suffers 
no application of the bull Quczcumque. On 
Jan. 8, 1861, the Sacred Congregation of In- 
dulgences, anxious to recall to the confraterni- 
ties the terms of this bull, issued a memorable 
decree in such express clauses that doubts arose 
as to the continuance of the Primaria in preserv- 
ing her prerogatives. The very Reverend Father 
Becks submitted these doubts to the Congrega- 
tion of Indulgences, and the latter declared, on 
Aug. 29, 1864, that the sodalities of the Blessed 
Virgin were not comprised in this decree. 1 

Such facilities granted for the erection of sodal- 
ities, together with the numerous privileges en- 
joyed by persons of both sexes and all ages, 
produced the happiest results ; the affiliations be- 
came very numerous ; their number would need 
explanation did one not know how much the 
devotion to the Blessed Mother of God has in- 
creased in this century, thanks to the zeal of the 
clergy, whose principal aim seems to have been 
to extend the veneration of Mary. It is, above all, 
due to the honor of the episcopacy that they have 
encouraged this devotion to the extent of having, 
through this means, prepared the way for the 

1 Cf. Acta S. Sedis, vol. II. p. 29. 



Extension of tije £ooalities since 1814 175 

triumphs enjoyed by Holy Church. Will not our 
century be ever called the century of the glories 
of Mary, the century of the Immaculate Concep- 
tion ? 

During the first two hundred and forty years of 
the association, that is to say, from 1584 to 1824, the 
number of diplomas of affiliation issued by the Pri- 
maria amounted to 2476. During the next forty 
years, 7040 were issued. It is worthy of notice 
that a surprising number of these sodalities were 
erected in honor of the Immaculate Conception ; 
from 1824 to 1833 we have counted no less than 
130 : moreover in 1832, thirty more were founded 
under the title of " The Immaculate Heart of 
Mary." 1 We thus see that, long before the dog- 
matic definition of the great privilege of the 
Virgin Mother, it was loudly affirmed by the 
faith of the Catholic universe, and that to this 
period in particular do the words of the bull 
Ineffabilis Deus apply : " It is this doctrine, so 
ancient, and so well engraved in the heart, that the 
whole world has propagated, thanks to the ardor 
and zeal of the bishops ; and it is this doctrine 
that has been approved by the Church when she 
proposed to the devotion of all the faithful the 
feast of the Immaculate Conception." 

Let us here remind the associates that it was in 

1 Archives of the Primaria. Prot o VIII., IX. 



176 GTfje Sotialtttcg of tlje iBIcsscti Ftrgtn 

this same bull, that Pius IX., of glorious memory, 
was pleased to make mention of the sodalities : — 
" Our predecessors held it ever to be their great 
honor, that they might promote in every possible 
way, homage to the Immaculate Virgin, be it by 
allowing cities, provinces, and kingdoms to 
take as their patroness the Mother of God, under 
the title of the Immaculate Conception, be it in 
approving that sodalities, confraternities, and fam- 
ilies of religious should be established in honor of 
this prerogative." 

In the rapid extension of the work of the sodal- 
ities, we should not overlook the fact of the supe- 
rior number of those erected for women. A few 7 
simple reflections will suffice to explain the zeal 
with which they were multiplied, as also the readi- 
ness on the part of the Primaria to accord to 
them the privilege of affiliation. 

In the society of the seventeenth, and even of 
the eighteenth century, there still reigned a spirit 
that was essentially Christian. In the social re- 
lations, as well as in the bosom of the family, the 
faith was held in honor, and morals were simple 
and severe : daughters were brought up with little 
or no contact with the world, and they carried into 
their own homes, the habits of retirement and 
modesty taught them by their parents. Young 
women were not" then exposed to the numerous dan- 



Extension of tfje Jcotialrttcs since 1S14 177 

gers that now assail virtue and purity in our large 
cities. Social festivities and entertainments were 
much rarer than at present, and of a much more 
wholesome kind. Especially in villages and small 
towns certain kinds of amusements were wholly 
unknown, which to-day cause great anxiety and 
solicitude to parents and religious authorities. 
From different points of view, as it is well known, 
the situation of things in our clay is very different. 
How natural it becomes, therefore, to resort to new 
means of piety and virtue in order to meet new 
dangers. 

Besides the superior attraction that pleasure 
may have for the sex, other considerations belong- 
ing to our time have combined to make it desir- 
able also to unite women in confraternities and 
sodalities. Indeed, how many are the charitable 
associations that have risen in our day! associa- 
tions that might have before been deemed unne- 
cessary, or, at least, much less necessary ; and 
would these charities support themselves and be 
spread without the aid of a religious centre ? 
Moreover, it is well known how great has become 
the religious influence of women in these clays of 
indifference on the part of the sex that should 
have been the directing influence of our societies. 
There is not to be found a Christian orator of the 
first half of our century, who does not bemoan the 



178 Ztyt ^Dualities of tijc Bksseti Firgtn 

degeneracy of character and the weakening of 
soul. The older generation of the present time 
had their convictions influenced by a rampant 
spirit of incredulity, and their resistance shaken 
by human respect. Moreover, we may allow our- 
selves to apply to the women of to-day what 
Montalembert said of virgins consecrated to the 
Lord : " In this age of great pusillanimity and of 
universal religious indifference, these victorious 
ones become the guardians of the secret of strength, 
and, in the very weakness of their sex, show forth 
the virility and persevering energy so sadly lack- 
ing in ours, yet without which it is impossible to 
oppose the sensuality, the egotism, the baseness 
of our times. 1 Must we not indeed acknowledge 
that, during a certain period, both in France and 
in Belgium, it would have been difficult to main- 
tain, and much less to found, any work of religion 
or charity composed of men alone ? Religious 
instruction for them was scarcely tolerated : it 
became necessary, whilst awaiting a new genera- 
tion of men, of Christians, to throw the weight of 
Christian works on those who had always been 
called the weaker sex. The part that women 
were destined to play, became more important ; it 
was not, therefore, surprising, that sodalities for 
them should multiply from this time forward. 

1 Works in 8 vo , vol. V., p. 375. 



Extension of tfjc ^otiaiitics since 1814 179 

Without entering into all the details of this 
development, let us merely cite a few facts that 
will go to prove the wisdom of admitting women 
into the confraternities. We regret that we must 
limit the present subject to a narrow space ; 
for a whole volume would hardly do justice 
to the matter before us. In 18 16, in the city 
of Saint-Brieuc, after a very successful mission 
that was preached there, • a sodality of young 
women was founded there by the Abbe Fr. Re- 
nault, 1 a professor in the seminary of that city. 
Not satisfied with having their Sunday reunions, 
these young persons, whose position in life allowed 
them some leisure, devoted themselves to the 
instruction of poor children, and their piety soon 
discovered to them, in the exercise of this work of 
mercy, the joys of the religious life. The little 
community of Sisters of Providence was born in 
their midst. It was founded by the Abbe Jean 
Maria de Lamennais ; it opened several houses 
and is still in existence. Might not one assign a 
similar birth to several of these fervent sodalities 
of religious that our time has seen multiplying 
themselves in every diocese of France and of 
Belgium ? And were these not in many instances 
founded by these very women, who, under the in- 

1 Notice Historique sur le P. Fr. Renault, par Ach. Guido, 
p. 19. 



180 £ije SotJalitus of tfjc ISlcsseti Utrgtn 

spiration of a priest led by the Spirit of God, were 
devoted daughters of the Blessed Virgin ? Many 
of them have, indeed, become instruments of 
sanctification, and the means by which the faith 
in many of our cities has been preserved and 
developed. 

In 1835, the city of Alost had a flourishing 
sodality of young women, many of whom showed 
extraordinary firmness in resisting pleasures, pub- 
lic amusements, and festivities. They celebrated 
the Lord's Day in a truly Christian spirit, giving 
their spare hours to the instruction of the poor 
children in the Sunday schools. All the cities of 
Belgium, since the liberties gained in 1830, have 
established such schools, largely with the help of 
the sodalists. 

In 1836, while the agents of Bible Societies 
were actively employed in spreading broadcast 
books that might prove dangerous to the faith of 
our population, the members of the sodalities dis- 
tinguished themselves for the zeal they displayed 
in counteracting this influence, even to buying 
from the hands of the poor the obnoxious liter- 
ature. The sodality of young ladies counted then 
about one hundred and forty members, and that 
of the working girls, three hundred. The Bishop 
of Ghent, Louis Delebecque, would often honor the 
meetings with his presence. 



Extension of tfjc £otialittcs since 1814 



151 



It was thus that the canon of Montpellier, after- 
wards bishop of Liege, expressed himself in the 
ninth chapter of the manual he edited for the use 
of the ladies at Namur. 1 "The sociality has for its 
object not only the sanctification of its members, 
but also the procuring of the welfare of their 
neighbor, by the different works that Christian 
charity and true piety may inspire ; each section 
may follow its own inclination in the choice of a 
work, each participating in all the works of the 
whole sodality. There are three sections : ist, 
that of the poor; 2d, that of the work-room, and 
3d, that of the house of God. Each section has 
its president, secretary, and treasurer. These 
should always act in common consent with the 
president of the whole association, and take her 
advice. Charity to the poor shall be exercised, 
through almsgiving, visits, counsel, and so forth. 
The work-room is under the direction of the 
sodalists : they receive poor workmen and shield 
them from corrupting influences ; they furnish 
work ; they watch over their morals. Those 
members whose tastes do not lead them to ex- 
terior good works can utilize both time and 
means by furnishing for poor churches all the 
articles necessary for divine worship." 

1 - Livre de prieres a l'usage des dames asscciess aux congrega- 
tions de la Sainte Vierge. D. Namur, F. J. Dourrlls, in 18, 412 pp. 



182 GHje ^otmltttcs of tfje iBlcsscti Utrgtn 

In 1841 some lady socialists in Louvain began 
a charitable work in favor of poor laborers, under 
the direction of the Vice-rector of the University. 
They made garments which they afterwards dis- 
tributed in the homes of the workmen, and there 
often discovered spiritual necessities that were 
even greater, and in which they lent their assist- 
ance. In 1843 they na d decided to unite them on 
Sundays for spiritual instruction, in the chapel of 
St. Anthony : at first about twenty workmen 
attended, but before Easter their number arose 
to three hundred. During the first years many 
opportunities were found to legitimatize mar- 
riages, to bring to the holy table unhappy sinners, 
to extricate their whole families from vice, and 
from the consequences of extreme poverty. A 
scholastic of the Society of Jesus gave them in- 
struction once a week. To this day, thanks to so 
much zeal, the work has not ceased to bear fruit 
in abundance ; once a year, under the presidency 
of the Vice-rector of the University, and of the 
rector of the Jesuit College, the ladies make a 
generous distribution of clothing, discriminating 
among those more w r orthy of their bounty. 1 

The young ladies' sodalities of the same town 
are in a most flourishing condition. When the 
rates of interment into the Catholic cemeteries 

1 Litt. Ann. Prov. Belg. 1843. p. 24. 



lExtenston of tfje ^otraltttcs &'<na 1814 183 

became burdensome to poor families on account 
of the taxes imposed by the Liberal administration, 
one of the sodalities started a society for mutual 
assistance, in order that the members might enjoy 
Christian burial. Several missionary institutions 
exist in Louvain, in which the ladies take an active 
and infinitely useful interest : we need only 
mention the Sunday-school for poor girls and 
the Apostolic work-rooms. To procure for the 
students of the Apostolic school, clothing and 
other materials for their long studies, and after- 
wards to render their entrance into a religious 
order or into the seminary for foreign missions 
feasible, is the object towards which these hand- 
maidens truly devoted to the service of Mary 
consecrate a part of their money and their leisure. 
Similar works are established in many other 
sodalities. 

Country parishes have accepted female sodalities 
with no less favor. In one year alone more than 
forty, were founded. 1 The following lines we 
translate from a letter written by a cure : " During 
the last Jubilee I had the pleasure of helping 
some of my colleagues, and I can safely state 
that in the parishes where women's socialities exist, 
there are more modesty, better morals, and a more 
solid piety. Though I have not spared any effort 

l Litt. Ann. Prov. Belg. 1853. p. 11. 



184 && ^fltialttteg of tfje BkssctJ Uivgtn 

in the thirteen years that I have spent here, I 
must allow that my parish is inferior in respect to 
piety and morals to that of many of my col- 
leagues. I therefore propose to establish a con- 
fraternity of the Blessed Virgin." Among the 
most efficacious means resorted to by pastors, we 
recommend this one : During the week of the 
kermesse the sodality furnishes the opportunity of 
making the annual retreat; the less edifying of 
the members at once refuse to join in these pious 
exercises, thereby adding to the recollection and 
fervor with which they are carried out ; the more 
courageous inscribe their names and so escape 
the temptations and dangers that are sure to 
attend worldly pleasures. 

If we thus speak principally of Belgium, it is 
because the situation there is best known to us ; 
moreover, an advantage has been enjoyed there 
that other Catholic countries may well envy; 
fifty years of a peace that, though often menaced, 
has not been entirely broken, have made it possi- 
ble to strengthen and develop religious societies. 
A great element of prosperity is to be found in 
the character of the Belgian clergy, whose praises 
it is needless here to repeat; hence the number 
of socialists is comparatively greater than else- 
where. 

It is worthy of notice that of the seven thou- 



Extension of tfje isotiaitttcs since IS14 185 

sand diplomas of affiliation issued by the Prima 
Primaria and extended all over the world in the 
last forty years, Catholic Belgium has claimed 
nearly two thousand. Must we not, therefore, 
seek in these confraternities the secret of a part 
at least, if not of the entire progress made by 
faith and piety in this country ? For, far from 
denying the power of the enemies of our religion 
and of their skepticism, it is only just to acknow- 
ledge that, thanks to the faithful children of the 
church, and thanks above all to the frequentation 
of the sacraments, piety and the true Christian 
spirit are making great progress in our midst. 

We would make this chapter too long, were we 
to trace the history of the sodalities of the Chil- 
dren of Mary. All those who have read the life 
of F. de Ravignan will know the good they have 
wrought in souls, and the magnificent work in the 
midst of the world that owes to them its birth and 
accomplishment. 1 In the education of young 
ladies, special devotion to Mary has produced 
similar results to those witnessed in the colleges 
for youths. Under wise and safe direction the 
privileged Children of Mary attain to the exercise 

1 The Sodality of the Children of Mary, erected in the convent 
of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, at the Trinita de' Monti, in Rome, 
was affiliated to the Prima Frimaria of the Roman College, Jan. 
7,1837. — Regole della Congregazione delle Figlie di Maria che 
vivono in mezzo al secolo. Roma. typ. A. Monaldi, 1844, p. 21. 



186 GTJje SotJaltttcs of tfje Blcsseti Ftrgin 

of the highest virtues, and they compose in the 
midst of their companions a centre of piety and 
of Christian edification. By their modesty, their 
zeal, and their attachment to their teachers, they 
co-operate in a great measure with the work of 
education. The Ladies of the Sacred Heart, the 
Sisters of Notre Dame, and those of Sainte 
Marie, and many other flourishing institutes, a/e 
daily gathering fruits of virtue through the influ- 
ence of the sodalities of the Blessed Virgin. 
These are, so to speak, the soul of their acade- 
mies. 



£oijalities of &tuticnte 187 



CHAPTER III 

tonalities of £ttttients 

\\ 7"HAT a beautiful subject is here presented 
* * to our pen ! It is almost impossible to 
resist the pleasure of treating it; but the mat- 
ter is inexhaustible, and when these large and 
fervent associations of children and of young 
men present themselves in brilliant array before 
us, we hesitate, lest we might fail to do justice to 
traits of virtue that, in never-ending succession, 
are rejoicing the heart of the Queen of Angels, 
and honoring the sodalities of our colleges and 
academies. We shall be unable even to mention 
the most pious amongst them. Shall we, there- 
fore, confine ourselves only to a few generalities 
which will apply in a greater or less degree to 
them all ? No ; let us try to do justice to all by 
putting before us one organization, that of Saint- 
Acheul, and we cannot do better than to introduce 
a resume of an excellent little volume, 1 that all 

1 T a Congregation de la T. S. Vierge a Saint-Ac'ieul, par le R. 
P. Charles Clair. Paris, Baltenweck, 1877, 180, 220 pages. 



188 Cije So&alittcg of tfje BIcsseti Utrgtn 

directors of these associations of students should 
read in order to penetrate into the true spirit 
which should guide these assemblies. 

In October, 1814, Father Cloriviere, a member 
of the old Society of Jesus, reopened the college 
of Saint-Acheul, and received into the order 
Father Louis de Bussi ; this young priest was the 
first director of the sodality. 1 His name is gener- 
ally best known in connection with his book, 
"The Month of Mary," so celebrated and so 
beloved of all Christian souls. Through this 
book, so many times reprinted, and containing 
such admirable doctrines, he made many conver- 
sions and greatly aided in propagating the salutary 
custom of keeping the month of May as conse- 
crated to the Blessed Virgin. For seven years he 
devoted himself to his beloved confraternity of 
students with a zeal that was full of amiability, as 
well as of prudence. It was thought well to 
admit only thirty-three pupils at the first recep- 
tion, and the greatest care was afterwards taken 
in the admission of subsequent members. The 
postulants had first to present themselves to one 
of the three principal officers, and through them 
to the father director. They had repeatedly to 
request admission, and generously to agree to all 
the conditions, the chief of which resumed them all, 

l Guide. Notice, II., 249, 303. 



Sodalities of Sttttients 



viz., uniform good conduct and application. After 
the first term of probation, which might be ex- 
tended to several months, they were admitted as 
approved -members and might attend the morning 
meetings, which were of a devotional character. 
With the advice of the consulters, after a fresh 
probation, also to last for an indefinite time, the 
director would appoint the day for their solemn 
reception. It was not all to have succeeded in 
entering the sodality; a student had to show him- 
self worthy of remaining a member. If he vio- 
lated or neglected the promise made on the day 
of consecration, the delinquent was only admon- 
ished or deprived for a time of the right of at- 
tendance, according to the gravity of the offence. 
Sometimes it was judged necessary to make these 
admonitions more public and impressive. . We 
will now pass on to different works of charity 
undertaken by each section, making only a pass- 
ing mention of the pious practices in use in this 
sodality. One was the drawing for a monthly 
patron among the saints ; another was the gift of 
a little pious sketch distributed by the director as 
a souvenir to the pupils ; still another was the 
short morning meditation to be voluntarily made 
each day, which was apart from the daily routine 
of the school. Father Bussi had the faculty of 
extending to its utmost capacity the usefulness of 



190 £ije Sotialtttca of tfje 33lcsseti Utrgm 

the charities performed. He would divide the 
members into groups, so as to give those that com- 
posed it the work which was best suited to their 
tastes and capacities. The first group or section 
cared for the necessities, both spiritual and cor- 
poral, of the sick and the imprisoned ; facilities for 
visiting these classes were afforded them, just as 
at present some sodalities have access to the old 
people in the homes of the Little Sisters of the 
Poor. The second section cared for the poor, and 
distributed to them food and money ; at the same 
time they would ask them simple questions from 
the catechism, and teach their prayers to those 
amongst them who were wholly ignorant, thus 
giving them both spiritual and bodily assistance. 
There is an indigence of spirit which is even 
worse than destitution of body, and the sight of 
boys recalling to men bowed down by age and 
infirmity the truths of the faith and the duties of 
religion, could not but bring reverently to our 
minds, Jesus preaching in the temple at the age of 
twelve. 

The duties of the section of the Sanctuary, are 
sufficiently explained by its title. To embellish 
the altar of Mary, to adorn it for her principal 
festivals, and to maintain the neatness and de- 
corum of the sanctuary, are the occupations of the 
members of the section. Last, but not least, F. 



&atialtttes of ^tuUents 



191 



Bussi organized the section of zeal : here were 
consecrated the principal efforts made in the 
direction of this virtue, though it was one that all 
the pupils, without distinction, were expected to 
practise. As there is nothing that has so vast a 
field as zeal, three subdivisions were made : in the 
first, arguments were presented with the view of 
fortifying Catholic convictions, and of showing 
the fallacy of certain current sophisms ; the de- 
baters, over whom the director presided, were thus 
able to strenghthen themselves in true principles. 
In the second subdivision, by being full of zeal 
for the honor of the Mother of God, the members 
tried to render her the most tender homage, and 
to propagate her veneration and devotion ; it was 
an apostleship of Mary, practised with discretion 
by young and ardent hearts. The end of the 
third subdivision was to render assistance to 
the newcomers among the students. There is 
something truly pathetic in the situation of a boy 
who for the first time leaves the parental roof for 
the life of a large boarding-school. At best he 
can only meet with indifference on the part of his 
comrades : he feels quite alone in the little world 
that surrounds him, and his thoughts fly back to 
the absent family circle, while his heart is filled 
with longing, sadness, and discouragement. If a 
charitable schoolfellow approaches him in order 



192 £f)e <S>otralittes of tfjt 33Icssct» Utrgm 

that he may do him some of those innumerable 
little services that are so acceptable under the cir- 
cumstances ; if he makes him feel at home ; if he 
stands by him in the trials and difficulties of 
the first few weeks, — he will undoubtedly have 
filled towards him a noble position, and will have 
spared him many an hour of low spirits that, as 
the Scriptures tell us, cannot but bring evil conse- 
quences. Such was the task allotted to this third 
subdivision. Charitable devices, delicate inge- 
nuity, little services and consolations, nothing was 
neglected, and very soon a single word about the 
sodality, and the happiness of belonging to it, 
would bring one more loving child of Mary to the 
feet of his Mother. 

A spirit of good will and of piety, — this only 
is needed to transform a school into a truly 
christian home. The sociality is the centre of 
piety, and from it is to come that spirit of good 
will on which is based every virtue that is to bear 
fruit in an educational establishment. Mary, the 
Mother and Patroness of the Sodality, found in 
these young souls the sentiments of the tenderest 
devotion. 

When some more solemn festival presented 
itself ; or if the month of May invited the pupils 
to honor their Mother with still heartier devotion, 
neither flowers nor lights were spared. Piety 



jsotialtttcs of jctufccnts 



J 93 



received a fresh impulse ; some new practice was 
suggested, and often, for greater honor to the 
Month of their Queen, it was decided that 
several members should daily approach the Holy 
Table in the name of all, while others should 
unite with them in spirit and prayer. 

Jesus and Alary, closely bound to each other 
during their earthly lives, are still united together 
in the devotion of the faithful, in whose hearts 
they cannot be separated. Devotion to the Sacred 
Heart was in its fullest fervor in the sodality. Its 
members clung to the cultus of reparation paid 
to the Son of God. If there is one practice which 
the Saviour recommended more than another, to 
the interpreter of His wishes, the B. Margaret 
Mary, it is that of Communion on the first Friday 
of the month. The associates were eager to 
comply with the Saviour's request. Often, on the 
first Friday of the month, more than three hun- 
dred young men might be seen assembled in 
church for the purpose of bestowing this mark of 
their love and respect upon Jesus. 

When piety is alive, all else lives, especially the 
spirit of duty. What duty is there more important 
to a student than that of his studies ? The 
thought of Mary guided our associates in their 
literary pursuit. Those upon whom our Lord 
had not lavished gifts of intellect gave themselves 



194 &¥ £otialttirg of tfje BIcsseti Ftrgtn 

up, for her sake, to the most laborious application, 
without flagging or discouragement. Others, more 
favored intellectually, found, in their Mother's 
love, an incentive to the development of their 
talents. The spirit of humility and obedience, 
went hand in hand with industry. Doubtless, at 
Saint Acheul, as everywhere, human nature was 
weak and subject to failure ; but when a fault was 
committed, not only was reparation witnessed, 
but it was often spontaneous. 

Serious insubordinations did not occur. There 
was no unseemly pride in success ; no vainglory 
over a generous act. It once happened that a lad 
of fourteen gave quite a considerable sum in alms 
to a little Savoyard. He thought he was unob- 
served. But in the evening, the Father Prefect of 
discipline, who had witnessed the act, related it to 
the pupils, without, of course, mentioning the bene- 
factor's name. At once the boy tried to turn the 
conversation ; still the Father continued. The 
poor boy blushed, was embarrassed, and, finding 
his efforts useless, at last burst into tears. Noth- 
ing could console him but leaving the story unfin- 
ished. The next day, however, his secret having 
been told, his tears and entreaties were understood. 

Humility is not weakness, and the humility of 
the members was as far removed from human 
respect as it was from pride. 



^totalities of ^tutmxts 



J 9: 



Two children were in the house of a stranger 
where the Church's abstinence was not observed. 
They said to each other : " We will not commit a 
mortal sin through cowardice." As they left un- 
touched the dishes which were offered to them, 
they were questioned, and urged to eat. Finally, 
they referred to the commandments of the 
Church. Entreaties, old worldly maxims by 
which men persuade themselves that in society 
they may cease to be Christians, — all were in vain, 
and the generous courage of the children pre- 
vailed. 

If the members of the sodality, on leaving col- 
lege, are grounded in solid principles, and are 
strong in virtue, why should it be astonishing 
that they carry a lively and zealous faith with 
them into the world ? Why should not the 
thoughts of these youths go back to those sacred 
walls, where under the shadow of Mary's sanctu- 
ary, they were trained in the Christian life ? Or, 
why should they not frequently return to that re- 
fuge to renew their strength and reanimate their 
courage, by living again the old life ? 

Each member found piety, encouragement to 
virtue, and strength to practise a good life, in the 
sodality. Besides, each one understood that, to 
please Mary, he must pour out upon others the 
abundance of his charitv and devotion. Cor 



196 tEfte <Sotialttte« of tije BIcssctJ Firgtn 

unum et anima una — one heart and one soul — 
was the keynote animating and harmonizing the 
thoughts and sentiments of the associates, under 
the protection of their Mother. Their hearts 
were large enough to embrace all of their com- 
panions without preference or exclusion. A 
trying temper, an obstinate disposition, were not 
a sufficient excuse for depriving a youth of the 
love of his schoolfellows. On the contrary, love 
ingeniously courted cold or rebellious hearts in 
the hope of drawing out their better side. 

Prudence was the only limit to such love. 
Sometimes a member was obliged to practise the 
precept, Prima sibi cafitas — "Charity begins at 
home." With rare exceptions, concord, peace, 
joy, a good understanding, were the rule at Saint 
Acheul ; charity within being only equalled by 
that which was diffused without. The college 
courtyard, to which the poor flocked, attics, 
cabins, schools, prisons, hospitals, were so many 
fields for our associates. St. Vincent de Paul, 
that great friend and helper of the indigent, had 
been given as the second patron to the division 
for the poor. The pupils strove to imitate their 
perfect model, and offered special prayers daily 
to obtain the spirit which should guide their hum- 
ble ministry. We must see our Lord Jesus Christ 
in the poor. If the poor are always with us, it is 



£aUaltttes of ^tutintts 



197 



because Jesus would immortalize in His Church 
the memory of His poverty, and perpetuate His 
own apostolate towards those who have no earthly 
inheritance. Were not the members serving the 
Son of God when, on Holy Thursday, prostrating 
themselves at the feet of the poor, they did not 
blush to perform that humble service of which 
noble and Christian princes have not been 
ashamed ? • 

In like manner these young pupils initiated 
themselves in the spirit of self-sacrifice, renounc- 
ing pleasure to relieve misfortune. Towards the 
poor they were neither avaricious of money, nor of 
affection. Often they gave up a part of their re- 
creation to instruct them, so pitiable was their 
ignorance, especially of things concerning their 
salvation. They could be found teaching work- 
ing-men their catechism, men who had never ap- 
proached the Holy Table, and leading them to 
the communion rail for the first time. It was not 
enough to help the poor who came to the college 
door; they hunted them up in their miserable 
dwellings. How many attics have witnessed this 
touching sight ! The Father who directed the 
band, or its appointed leader, encouraged and in- 
structed the parents in the truths of their religion. 
Others catechised the children, giving them a 
picture as a reward and a souvenir of their visit. 



198 £fje Sodalities of tlje BlegseU Utrgin 

Then all retired, leaving behind them greater 
resignation, and the Christian thought that poverty 
is the gold with which heaven is bought. More 
than two hundred families were visited in this 
way in a year. Both city and village were recipi- 
ents of the holy charity of these pupils. Remem- 
bering always that they were the sons of Mary, 
they infused devotion to the Holy Virgin into the 
hearts which they undertook to succor, and their 
zeal went the length of trying to make them 
preachers also, thus leading misery to seek a com- 
forter and a mother in Mary. 

If the associates set an example of piety by 
works of charity, they were in return edified from 
time to time by the piety of their proteges. As 
Father de Bussi relates : " One day, in one of our 
visits, we found a poor widow whose misery was 
great because of the high price of bread, and who 
was therefore unable to get food for her numerous 
and half-famished family. While I was talking 
with her, one of her children came near our 
basket of provisions, devouring it with his eyes. 
One of the associates, observing the child's hun- 
gry look, gave him some fruit from the basket. 
The child took it, and, holding it in his hand, 
glanced towards his mother. ' You know very 
well what you should do,' she said, looking at the 
same time at the image of the Holy Virgin. The 



5otialitt0S of £tutjents 



199 



s 



child immediately laid the fruit at Mary's feet, 
kneeling before her with hands clasped in prayer. 
Moved to tears, the visitors gave the fruit back to 
the child, and ever afterwards took special care 
of this pious family." 

Such instances as these, or at least others 
equally edifying, were quite frequent, and were 
useful to our young disciples of Christian charity. 

" I was a prisoner, and you visited me," our 
Lord will say at the Last Day, when, after taking 
account of the merits of the just, He is ready to 
give them their eternal reward. The associates 
could not neglect the work of visiting prisons. 
They might have been seen penetrating into those 
places where criminals expiate their crimes ; 
among miserable beings without sense of right or 
wrong, some guilty only of theft or of similar de- 
linquency ; others awaiting criminal condemna- 
tion ; others, again, already sentenced either to 
the galley or to death ; the greater number embit- 
tered by punishment, and only meditating ven- 
geance ; all thinking only of their hard fate, their 
evil habits, their revengeful and bitter thoughts, 
made any effort towards their conversion exceed- 
ingly difficult. The young men went directly 
among them, prayed with them, taught them the 



rosary; the Father visitor meantime giving them 
a short instruction. The way to their hearts was 



200 £J)e ^otraltttes of tfje Bkssrti Ftrgtn 

through almsgiving. Often, at the sight of a 
charity specially lovely in the young, the bitter- 
ness of the men would give way. They learned 
to see the justice of their penalty, and encouraged 
each other to bear it with resignation. One of 
them, as he went to the scaffold, said, "It is just 
that he who has taken the life of a fellow-being 
should die, and thus satisfy divine justice." This 
special work was not free from sorrow and trial. 
More than once charity had to encounter brutal 
stubbornness. On the other hand, how many 
conversions consoled the young apostles of the 
Bicetre and Conciergerie prisons ! Among them 
one of the most remarkable w 7 as that of an old 
soldier, whose whole life had been passed in 
abject ignorance. His soul, which knew no faith, 
was given up to despair. One day an associate 
approached him, saying, " A soldier should be 
brave and bear his lot with more courage." Still 
the veteran was obdurate. Changing his tactics, 
the young man then told him of God and of His 
infinite mercies. At these words the old soldier's 
heart softened ; he began to believe in so good a 
Father. With faith, hope and comfort came to 
him. The staff for visiting the sick was not less 
faithful than that which devoted itself to the poor 
and to prisoners. An ample field was found in 
the great Hotel Dieu, where both soul and body 



JSofcaliitcs of ^tuocnts 201 

could be delicately ministered to. As in other 
divisions of their sodality, temporal aid, sympathy, 
and religious instruction fell to the share of the 
young pupils. How many instances of charity 
and zeal, and how many happy fruits of this apos- 
tolate could be enumerated ! At one time, to 
give the patients amusement and occupation, a 
library was collected ; at another, retreats were 
given ; at all times, going from bed to bed, kind 
words were spoken to all. As a last example, an 
edifying instance of generosity was that of a young- 
man who could not see a case of suffering with- 
out the wish to relieve it. It happened that at 
the Hotel Dieu there was a patient who was about 
to be discharged as convalescent, but who was 
still weak from the effects of his illness. The 
young visitor respectfully asked the superior why 
she could not keep the patient longer ? "Alas !" 
replied the Sister, "we have no longer a free bed 
for him." "And how much does a bed cost?" 
" My child," answered the Sister, " all the money 
you have to give would not suffice, for a bed 
costs twenty francs." The generous youth took 
the sum from his pocket (all he had for his own 
little expenses), sacrificing it willingly for the good 
of another, and saw his protege comfortably in his 
bed before he left the hospital. 

Almsgiving at the homes of the poor did not 



202 Cfjc <SotJaltttcs of ti}c ISlcsscti Firgin 

not always conveniently include spiritual help. 
Therefore the director of the sociality organized 
a work which produced much fruit. As usual . 
he found admirable co-operators in his young 
people. He gathered the poor together in a 
chapel, where temporal relief and religious in- 
struction were combined. Soon more than four 
hundred men and three hundred women fre- 
quented the chapel. The method of instruction 
was the same, whether at the chapel or the hospi- 
tal. In order to secure attention, a controversial 
form was adopted. Thus the associates became 
instructors of the poor, imitating their Divine 
Master, who on the plains of Judea taught His 
precepts to the unfortunate and the humble. 
There were special exercises for retreats and for 
the month of Mary. More than once Divine Pro- 
vidence blessed the zeal of these children by re- 
markable conversions. At the close of one of 
the instructions, in which the young preacher had 
dwelt upon the justice of God, and called upon 
his hearers not to put off their conversion until 
the last moment, a man said to him, with deep 
feeling, "All those who will not be converted this 
very day, are already condemned." Another, 
after long resistance, at last renounced his evil 
ways, and brought five of his dissipated compan- 
ions to the confessional 



tonalities of £?tulmits 



203 



If it was impossible that each member should 
bear an active part in all the charities undertaken 
by the confraternity, each at least could contribute 
something in the way of alms to the work of others. 
Sometimes the sufferings of Christ were recalled 
to their minds ; sometimes direct appeals were 
made to their charity. By such considerations 
and by reiterated appeals, a love for suffering 
humanity was kept alive in their hearts. Besides 
regular collections, the pupils of both the junior 
and the senior divisions, got up sales and other 
enterprises by which they sought to make the col- 
lege a real bureau of charity. Self-sacrifice was 
not unknown to them. From their earliest years 
they practised this great virtue, so strengthening 
to character, so softening to the heart. 

One word will show to what point charity ruled 
among them : when the college was closed in 
1828, the principal citizens of Amiens presented 
a petition to the king, in which they said : " Saint- 
Acheul relieves the regular charity bureaus by its 
generous alms; it dispenses annually at least fifty- 
two thousand pounds of bread to the poor," — a 
testimony of which the societies under Mary's 
patronage may well be proud. A model of 
charity which all should imitate who have the 
happiness of being brethren of these associates 
truly worthy of their Mother ! 



204 ^ e Sodalities; of tljc BlcssctJ Firgin 

Our readers may have been astonished, perhaps 
even discouraged; they may say: " All this is no 
doubt admirable, but can such examples be fol- 
lowed in these days ? " Do not misunderstand 
us. Zeal should be directed by prudence, and 
prudence must consider and weigh the actual 
state of things. We thought an account of the 
confraternities of Saint-Acheul, during the short 
period of 1814 to 1828, might stimulate or encour- 
age the zeal of many other college sodalities ; 
hence our motive in writing it. At that time the 
Conferences of St. Vincent de Paul were not 
established. Later, in the greater number of the 
Society's colleges, the sodalities of the Holy 
Virgin furnished those associations with active 
members. Under the presidency of their direc- 
tor they cultivated the habit of aiding and com- 
forting the poor, and became experienced in that 
science which Holy Scripture calls a source of 
happiness : "Beatus qui intelligit super egenum" — 
the science of poverty and misery. 

From a report of the conference of the College 
of Notre Dame at Tournay, we learn that, long 
before the founding of the Society of St. Vincent ■ 
de Paul, the practice of personally visiting the 
poor had been introduced there, both among the 
sodalists and the boarding and clay pupils. 

In the depth of winter the youths carried their 



iSotialtttcs of ^tuocnts 



small alms to the poor of Frasnes and of Elle- 
zelles ; and at the time of first communion they 
again drew upon their own resources to furnish 
suitable clothes for a few poor children. 

When, towards 1850, the Conferences were es- 
tablished in Belgium, nine pupils, all of them 
members of the sodality, were led to found one 
within the college ; thus, a president, secretary, 
and treasurer were elected on the 9th of May, 185 1. 
Uniting their own resources with the thousand 
ways in which charity delights to be generous, 
they raised over three thousand francs the first 
year. They assisted forty poor families in the 
suburbs. We feel constrained to resist the plea- 
sure of naming those among the first thirty-six 
members of this conference, whom gratitude has 
since discerned in the annals of all the great 
Catholic charities, the greater part of them blessed 
names, names that have remained faithful to the 
inspirations of their youth. 

The Conference of the College at Tournay was 
aggregated to the central bureau on December 
7, 1852, through the influence of Baron de Ger- 
lache. It has continued to publish its annual re- 
ports. Other educational houses founded private 
conferences, either by the aid of their sodalities, 
and more frequently by their aid alone; or they 
initiated the oldest of the associates in the work 
of the local conferences. 



206 GTfje £otialittcs of tfje Blcsscfc Firgtn 

Many more things might be said in praise of the 
clients of Mary in our colleges. We might speak 
of their devotion to the work of instructing first 
communicants; of their support of free schools; of 
their aid to the old men in charge of the Little Sis- 
ters of the Poor. We might tell of their zeal in col- 
lecting the modest contributions of their fellow 
members, from week to week, in aid of the Societies 
of the Propagation of the Faith and of the Holy 
Childhood, or of the work of St. Francis de Sales. 
The directors of the pupils' sodalities know how 
much this weekly exercise of the apostolate devel- 
ops the seeds of vocation. Further details would 
bring us directly into contemporaneous events. 
W r e think we have said enough to show that a 
fertile field is open to the sodalists, and that there 
is nothing to prevent them from imitating their 
predecessors, those of Saint Acheul and of Notre 
Dame of Tournay, as well as the first students of 
the Roman College, an account of whose charitable 
works we gave in the beginning of this history. 

It is time to turn to a more interesting part of 
our subject. We must hasten to review the sodal- 
ities of men and of youths, with a special regard 
to the works of charity which they have accom- 
plished. In this necessarily incomplete exhibit, 
we shall follow the chronological order, stopping 
only when touching too closely upon our own 
times, 



JSooaltties of fHcrt 207 



CHAPTER IV 

jsofcaltttes of ffltn 

TN this category, the first which claims our atten- 
* tion is the Paris sodality, which has already 
been spoken of (Book III. ch. I.). Under the 
wise direction of the Abbe Legris-Duval, it gave 
birth to a benevolent society divided into three 
sections : one for the hospitals, another for the 
prisons, and the third for the Savoyards. Each 
section had its president, yet every six months a 
general assembly was held at the headquarters of 
the sodality. A report was made on the general 
condition of the society, and on the results ob- 
tained from its three branches respectively. 

The hospital work dated from the time when the 
Fr. Delpuits formed the nucleus of this generous 
union of young men. From that time on, it con- 
tinued to increase. With the concurrence of the 
board of directors, each associate repaired on 
certain days of the week, and at given hours, to 
the men's wards which had been assigned him. 
There, having read aloud some suitable selection, 



2o8 £fjc ^otialtttes of tfjc Bicsseti Ftrgtn 

he visited the sick who were in their beds, incit- 
ing them to accept sufferings or death in a Chris- 
tian spirit. 

The work anioiig the Savoyards collected to- 
gether in various quarters of Paris, on Sundays, 
those poor children from Auvergne and Savoy, 
who had come up to the great capital to find 
work as chimney-sweeps. Orders for bread were 
distributed to them after each meeting, to induce 
them to be punctual. Many of these poor lads 
prepared themselves worthily for their first com- 
munion, and carried away with them an undying 
recollection of that clay. 

The work in prisons succeeded in obtaining the 
separation, in common prisons, of young delin- 
quents from older criminals. The prison authori- 
ties, yielding to the representations of the asso- 
ciates, consented even to a separate house for 
them, and confided its direction to the Brothers 
of the Christian Schools. These different under- 
takings continued to prosper under Fr. Ronsin, 
who in 1814 succeeded the Abbe' Legris-Duval 
as director of the sodality. For thirteen years 
the most distinguished men of all ranks, and 
the elite of the young were formed, by his care, 
in the practice of Christian virtue. They were 
the most active members of the benevolent 
society, which admitted others who were not 



&0tJaitttes of fftm 209 

members of the sodality and besides, it had been 
thought best even to give the society a special 
director, the Abbe Desjardins, a former cure of 
the foreign missions. The revolution of 1830 
stopped the activity of both societies, which until 
then had combined their works of piety and zeal. 1 
One of the noblest recollections connected with 
the Paris sodality is, the work under the invoca- 
tion of St. John Francis Regis. It originated in 
1826 with Jules Gossin, king's counsel, a most 
fervent socialist. Its object was to facilitate the 
civil and religious marriages of those poor 
who live disorderly lives, and to legitimatize their 
children. The Christian and moral character of 
this society is so well known and appreciated, 
that it is unnecessary to enlarge upon it. It has 
branches in all large Catholic towns. It was 
necessarily placed under the care of the secular 
clergy. M. Gossin, whose name is held in honor 
by the sodalities, was not uninfluential in originat- 
ing the conferences of St. Vincent de Paul. At 
least we know a book of his which suggested the 
idea of this society, by making the generation of 
1830 love the great benefactor of the poor; it is 
called " St. Vincent de Paul, portrayed by his 
Writings." 2 

1 Guide-, Notices II., p. 68-8 r. 

2 Paris, Blaise, 1834, 160, 507 pp. 



2 io £f)c Sotialtttcs of tfje Blesscti Utrgirt 

Some twenty years ago, F. Carayon * said 
that the sodality had become a failure in Paris 
through the unpopularity of its name, which Vol- 
tairian impiety had tried to dishonor. Under a 
new and less compromising form, and under a 
new name, Catholics fearlessly re-established 
their work of charity. We do not pretend to say 
that, the society of St. Vincent de Paul is are- 
production of the sodalities of the Holy Virgin ; 
we only say that its programme of associated 
works of charity is a happy imitation of the work 
of the sodalities. The conference soon had to 
encounter the enemies of Catholic liberty; the 
enemy of the sodalities soon perceived in them 
the eternal object of his hatred, that is to say, 
practical and true Christianity. Let us say that 
the sodalities cheerfully rally under the banner of 
St. Vincent de Paul, and that, thanks to the ex- 
cellent organization of the conferences, they are 
able to carry out more easily and more effectually, 
by their means, those good works which give to 
piety its nutriment and its consolation. 

While Fr. Ronsin sustained the work of the Abbe' 
Legris-Duval, Fr. Pierre Roger directed a sodality 
of Notre Dame des Victoires in a chapel of the 
church of St. Thomas Aquinas. This fraternity 
was composed of officers of the regiments of the 

' 1 Histoire Abregee des Congregations, Paris, 1863; preface. 



Sodalities of fflctt 211 



Guard ; a few generals were also admitted. Be- 
fore long, unhappily, the meetings had to be dis- 
continued ; not because men were not to be found 
who could unite loyalty and courage with piety, 
nor that the exercise of that discretion which the 
existing state of the public mind required, gave 
grounds for suspicion ; but, that hatred had re- 
course to every means for throwing discredit upon 
their generous efforts for the faith, and the mili- 
tary sodality of Paris was obliged to suspend its 
meetings. This happened in 1828. 

It must be confessed that to undertake such 
works of benevolence in the face of the infidelity 
of that day, required the boldest confidence, or 
rather an unflinching courage. 1 The famous July 
ordinances came to prove it only too soon. The 
French Jesuits, sacrificed by a timid government, 
were obliged to break up their colleges, finding in 
Switzerland and elsewhere means of carrying on 
Christian education. 

l Let us here recall to the honor of the young men who de- 
voted themselves to the service of Pope Pius IX., that a sodality 
with the title of Mary Immaculate was formed from their ranks 
under the direction of Mgr. Sacre ; its members, numbering about 
one hundred, were all Belgians, and held their meetings eve-y fort- 
night. In this sodality at least, human respect did not prevent the 
union of piety with courage. Its members proudly wore the badge 
of Mary under their Zouave uniforms, and the event proved that the 
frank and public practice of our holy faith never weakens courage 
in battle, nor compromises military honor. — Precis Historiques, 
i862j p, 205. 



212 Wqz iSo&aiitteg of tfje Blcsseti Firgin 

The college of Fribourg, founded by the blessed 
Peter Canisius, had been restored to the Society 
of Jesus some twelve years before this, and the 
French exiles not only found flourishing sodalities 
there among the pupils, but also among the work- 
ing and middle classes. 

Nothing more admirable, more edifying could be 
imagined — so speaks an eye-witness — than the 
sight which the Latin sodality offered to faith. It 
was composed of old students of the college, of 
many prominent citizens, and of ecclesiastics. Its 
titular feast was celebrated on the 25th of March, 
with a solemnity which left a deep impression on 
all hearts. Old sodalists assembled on that day, 
in the college church, from all parts of the coun- 
try ; magistrates, military men, and the clergy came 
to rekindle their zeal in this home of their early 
piety. A prie-dieu had been reserved for the 
Bishop in the choir, two others for the chief offi- 
cials of Fribourg. After the sermon, which was 
in Latin, the vow of perpetual fidelity to Mary was 
renewed : lighted taper in hand, the Bishop going- 
first, the assembly following, all made their act 
of consecration. This glorious homage to their 
Patroness ended, the sodalists laid down their 
tapers at the foot of Mary's throne, and, passing 
before their chief pastor, kissed his pastoral ring, 
thus declaring their loyalty to the representative 
of Divine Authority. 



^otialtttes of £Hm 213 



During their exile, while the French Jesuits 
continued to devote themselves to the cause of 
education, they did not wholly cease from govern- 
ing the socialities that were in France. 

Not to prolong this sketch, we will only 
recall to mind F. Maxime de Bussi, who, after 
having devoted himself to the young for many 
years, consecrated himself to the Apostolate. 
The town of Puy was the principal field of his 
labors. Persuaded that men should place them- 
selves at the head of a religious movement, and 
that it belongs to them to shield the interests of 
the faith by example and authority, he began, in 
1835, t° organize a sodality for men, choosing 
them from all classes of society. It numbered, 
almost constantly, from six to eight hundred as- 
sociates. The venerable missionary made no 
secret to anyone of his tender affection for his well- 
beloved sodalities, as it pleased him to call them. 
He identified himself, as it were, with them, was 
the confidant of their sorrows and trials, their 
counsellor in difficulties, the assiduous and dis- 
creet minister to their necessities, the father and 
guardian angel of their children. • 

During eighteen years he refused every engage- 
ment for the last half of Lent, that he might him- 
self give his people their retreat. His devoted- 
ness was blessed by God. Every year on the 



214 ^Tij^ ^otialttics of tfjc iSicsscti Firgtu 

solemn Easter Day, some twelve or fourteen hun- 
dred men received Holy Communion in St. 
George's Church. His sodality erected a marble 
monument over his grave in the Chapel of St. 
Valerius, which recalls the memory of the good 
works of this pious director. 

The confraternities for men and youths have 
nowhere been more flourishing, in this century, 
than in the Rhenish provinces. The whole zeal 
of the Jesuits of Aix-la-Chapelle, of Coblentz, of 
Cologne, of Diisseldorf, of Mayence, of Bonn and of 
Essen was concentrated upon the men's sodalities. 
These rendered such invaluable services to reli- 
gion, that in 1865, the General Assembly of the 
Katholische Vereine spoke of them as a highly 
commendable institution. Those of Aix-la-Cha- 
pelle united, in six or seven different sections, 
persons from every class of society : prominent 
citizens, directors, employees of different boards of 
government, people of the middle class, merchants, 
workingmen, apprentices, students, all were helped 
to preserve the integrity of their faith, and trained 
in solid and enlightened piety. Many committees 
selected from among the socialists were con- 
spicuous for their zeal in doing good. One 
maintained a library for the people, another 
managed the Peter's Pence collections, a third 
organized and supported schools for adults. Dur- 



&otfaltttes of iSlrn 215 



ing the Franco-German war, special committees 
(fur die Charitas) devoted themselves to the care 
of the wounded. Not only did they gather to- 
gether necessary supplies for the relief of such 
unfortunates, but they spent a part of each day 
and night in the hospitals and ambulances. 

For more than ten years since persecution drove 
the Jesuits from Germany, the confraternities have 
been kept up by the zeal of the secular clergy, in 
the hope that better days might enable them to 
strengthen and extend themselves. 1 

Perhaps we may be permitted to compare the 
sodalities of the Rhenish provinces with those 
described by the Very Rev. Fr. Anderledy in a 
recent letter : " I remember," writes the Vicar- 
General of the Society of Jesus, " having seen, in 
the United States of America, sodalities composed 
of thousands of men, who approached the Holy 
Table every month. In one of them, at St. Louis, 
young men and students numbered more than 
eight hundred. In Chicago, the numerous sodal- 
ities of men divide the Sundays of the month 
among them, in order to fulfil the rule of monthly 
communion. Often, on the same Sunday, at 
different Masses, the church of the Jesuits is 

1 Report of the Sodalities of Mary for men : Aix-la-Chapelle, 
Jacobi, 1880. The Sodalities of Mary and their importance in our 
time. From " Der Katholik, i8>;." 



2i6 STfyc & Dualities of tfjc iSIeggcfc Fugtn 

filled with crowded ranks of socialists who have 
come to partake of the Holy Mysteries. The 
cities of Boston, Baltimore, St. Louis, Cincinnati, 
and New York, count each about four thousand 
members, divided among from five to twenty dif- 
ferent branches. There is no large city which 
does not offer the edifying spectacle of at least 
one numerous sodality for men, under the patron- 
age of the Blessed Virgin Mary." x 

Without counting the College sodalities, the 
Belgian Province of the Society of Jesus has 
established twenty-five sodalities of older and 
younger men. They number at the present time 
over four thousand members. 

In 1835 a sodality of young men which had 
been inaugurated at Louvain, in the ancient Col- 
legiate Church of St. Peter, was transferred first to 
the Chapel of Ease of Notre Dames des Fievres, 
and lastly to the Company of Jesus. This body 
exerted itself always with zeal and success to 
promote the exercises of the Month of Mary. 

The custom had already been introduced among 
Christian families of consecrating the month of 
flowers to the most Holy Virgin. To the great 
advantage of Christian piety, thanks to the in- 
itiative taken by the associates, as well as to the 

l Woodstock letters, 1880, p. 72. Fructus Spirituales Prov. 
Marylandiae ; Fructus Ministerii Prov. Missourianae. 



Sodalities of iB.cn 217 



emulation created by their example, all the 
churches in Louvain adopted this pious devo- 
tion. 

In i860 the Sovereign Pontiff, Pius IX., wished 
to show some mark of gratitude for the zeal which 
this sodality had displayed. Accordingly, at the 
request of its Director, aided by the entreaties of 
Mgr. Sterckx, Cardinal Aichbishop of Malines, 1 
in memory of the twenty-fifth anniversary of its 
foundation, he granted the favor of a Jubilee to 
the entire Deanery of Louvain. About the same 
time the first sodalities of the city of Ghent were 
established. Notwithstanding carefulness as to 
admissions, and strict observance of rule, they 
numbered in 1839 four hundred young men and 
two hundred and fifty fathers of families. This 
kind of congregation was even more successful 
at Turnhout, where the number of associates 
reached a thousand. Frequent reception of the 
Sacraments was one of the most consoling results 
of this good work. In 1848 the Dean of Ghent 
could estimate with satisfaction an increase of 
twenty thousand communions in his parish alone ; 

1 Ob singularem devotionem erga B. V. Mariana, zelum propa- 
gandae fidei officiorumque nostras religionis. et exemplum omnium 
virtu turn quibus ea (sodalitas) praefulget, etiam-atque etiam Sanc- 
titati suae supplicamus, ut votis ejus ad majorem Dei gloriam et 
salutem animarum benigne annuere dignetur. — Litt. Ann. Prov. 
Belg. i860, p. 22. 



218 Ojc ^otialtttcs of tfje Bicsscti Ftrgtn 

and he attributed this progress of piety to the 
fervor of the members of the sodality, whose 
example restored monthly communion to its place 
of honor. 1 

In 1842, at Brussels, the young lawyers, physi- 
cians, and university men, who were united in 
a sodality by F. Boone, under the protection of 
Our Lady of Mercy, started a conference of char- 
ity, whose statutes were approved by Cardinal 
Sterckx on the 9th of July of the same year. 
Their purpose was " to visit laboring men and the 
poor, to procure work and help for them, and 
especially to try to revive among them principles 
of religion, their only real support and hope. 2 

" Already," they wrote, " our little band begins 
to increase, but we feel the need of hastening its 
progress. Encouraged by the venerable head of 
the diocese, we have decided to publish our stat- 
utes, persuaded that our charitable aims have but 
to be known to the citizens of the capital, and they 
will come to us in large numbers, adding their 
efforts to ours for the success of our project." 

Ordinary subscribers gave at once, or quarterly, 
an annual sum of eight francs. Leading subscrib- 

1 Litt. Ann. Prov. Belg. 1848, p. 20. 

2 Litt. Ann. Prov. Belg. S. J., 1842, p. 29. Reglement de 
P Association de Charite sous le Patronage de N. D. de Miseri- 
corde. Bruxelles, De Wageneer, 1842, 32 pp. tSitio. 



isotJaltties of iB.cn 219 



ers collected ten other subscriptions. Extraordi- 
nary gifts were recorded in a special register for 
benefactors and patrons. Women were not ad- 
mitted to the council, but shared in the work of 
visiting the poor. 

Such was the modest origin of the first confer- 
ence of St. Vincent de Paul in Belgium. After 
1845 tms popular chanty, having been organized 
in Paris, was planted in Belgium, placing itself 
under the direction of the Central Council, with 
which the work of the F. Boone connected itself. 
About the same time some thirty students of Lou- 
vain began the foundation of that splendid sodal- 
ity which has since received into its ranks the 
elite of the youth of the university. They felt 
that in the midst of that liberty which young 
students are thrown into on leaving college, the 
most solid piety and the most manly courage may 
succumb to the seductions of pleasure. It seemed, 
even, that a fatal influence was creeping over their 
Alma Mater. However that l may have been, 
the academic authorities were as favorably dis- 
posed as possible towards the pious undertaking. 
The rapid increase of the sodality, the large at- 
tendance at the fortnightly meetings, the zeal of 
many of the members for adult schools, the suc- 

1 Yseux. The sodality of the students of the University of 
Louvain. — Revue Catholique, 1875. 



2 2o GHje ^otialttfes of tfje BlessctJ Uirgtn 



cess of the most fervent in their examinations, 
the splendid pilgrimages of three or four hundred 
sodalists to Montaigu, and especially the testi- 
mony of the rectors of the university, sufficiently 
attest the blessings and graces which the Holy 
Mary obtained for this noble congregation. 

His Holiness Leo XIII., who to-day governs 
the Church, and who represented the Holy See 
as Nuncio at the Court of Brussels in 1843-4, 
honored the last reunion of the academic year 
by his presence. After Pontifical Benediction 
and the consecration of eleven new members, 
Mgr. Pecci received the council and replied most 
graciously 1 to the discourse of the Prefect, M. 
Ferdinand Lefebvre, promising, among other 
things, to give the Sovereign Pontiff an account 
of the touching sight he had witnessed. Raised 
to the Holy See of St. Peter, forty years later, it 
was to be his consolation to grant a Jubilee to the 
immense family of the children of Mary, on the 
occasion of the three hundredth anniversary of 
the sodalities. 

" How many men have come here to learn what 
life is in its struggling reality, and to gain strength 
for the great battle for truth and Christian honor," 
said, in 1879, the venerable Mgr. Nameche, Rec- 
tor Magnificas, "to gain the strength which comes 

1 Manuscript diary of the sodality, 18 July, 1844. 



jsoBalittes of fHen 221 



from above, and to assure themselves of the sym- 
pathy of brothers who share the same convictions 
and who pray at the feet of the same Mother ! 
Dispersed through every grade of society, sena- 
tors, representatives, magistrates, lawyers, physi- 
cians, engineers, merchants, manufacturers, those 
three or four thousand men whose names may be 
read in the golden book of the sodality, continue 
still to place their faith and their religious duties 
above everything else ; showing and proving to 
all, by word and example, that in the forum, as 
well at the domestic hearth, religious, practical 
faith is the one important thing for men and 
nations, and the only solid foundation of the 
state." 1 

At the time of the fiftieth anniversary of the 
university, Mgr. Pieraerts, the honored successor 
of Mgr. Nameches, referred to the sodality of the 
Holy Virgin, paying merited homage to its works 
of zeal and faith. We subjoin an extract from 
his report of the 12th of March, 1884: — 

" Do you not hear it said every day, gentlemen, 
that, in our noble and beautiful land, the university 
of Louvain is the bulwark of the faith ? that in 
her there is strength, hope and salvation, because 
she has preserved sound doctrines, because all 

1 Address of Mgr. Nameche before the meeting of the students' 
sodality. . . . Louvain, Ch. Fonteyn, 1879. 



222 £rjc SotiaHttcs of tfje Bksscti Ftvgin 

her efforts tend to uphold good morals, because 
the young find societies in her, which I gladly 
call societies for mutual aid and preservation : the 
conferences of St. Vincent de Paul, which founded 
and are still sustaining so many others where 
the faith is preserved under the shield of charity ; 
the sodality of the Blessed Virgin, which, though 
it no longer inscribes emperors and kings on its 
rolls, yet its ever-illustrious records show some 
seven hundred and eighty-four students, at the 
present time serving under the name and banner 
of Mary ; the inheritor of the ' Angelic Hosts ' of 
our ancient alma mater, the conference of St. 
Thomas Aquinas, proud of the distinguished 
circle under the protection of the holy Doctor 
assigned by Leo XIII. to the Catholic universi- 
ties of the world as their patron ; the catecheti- 
cal school for adults, which presents to the gaze 
of heaven and earth the touching spectacle of 
seventy young men devoting their time of recrea- 
tion, every evening, to advising and instructing 
the sons of working-men ; neither discouraged nor 
fatigued at anything when it is a question of help- 
ing souls, of preventing disaster, of courageously 
assisting society when it is in trouble. 

" Finally, gentlemen, I repeat it, there is 
strength, hope and salvation in the university of 
Louvain, because her spirit is eminently Christian 



ftotralitira of fflm 223 



and she is not afraid to announce her faith pub- 
licly ; whether, preceded by the cross, her mem- 
bers walk in procession through the streets, chant- 
ing prayers of our liturgy, when the successor of St. 
Peter opens to the world the treasures and pardon 
of a Jubilee ; or whether, in the month of May, 
she organizes, with yearly increasing devotion, 
those splendid pilgrimages to the shrine of Our 
Lady of Montaigu, founded in old times by our 
princes, and whither our princes of to-day go, 
amid prayers and canticles to the edification of 
all Belgium, to fulfil their pious and royal 
vows." 

We may add to this eulogy of the sodality of 
Louvain, that it subsequently furnished the most 
devoted members, who were also the first found- 
ers of the socialities for men which at the present 
time are so prosperous in Brussels, Antwerp, and 
in other principal cities of Belgium. 

We should, however, overstep the limits which 
we have planned for our little history, were we to 
describe the latest foundations. The zeal of their 
directors and members is an earnest of their 
future. Faith is strengthened, hope is revived at 
the sight of two or three hundred faithful servants 
of the Mother of God, courageously professing 
their religion in the face of an unbelieving public ; 
considering it an honor and a merit to form the 



224 ^ e Sodalities of tije iSIesscti Firgitt 

escort of the most Adorable Sacrament, or of 
the image of the ever blessed Virgin, when it is 
carried in peaceful triumph through the streets of 
the Belgian cities. 



importance of £o&alttics in our Dag 



CHAPTER V 

Emparlance of £otialittcs in our Bag 

As we said in an earlier part of this account, 
men have from the beginning recognized the 
necessity of union ; they have seen that a strength 
comes from the principle of association, which the 
individual does not possess. Neither side, either 
the good or evil, could afford to neglect this 
resource which multiplies human power and 
activity so greatly. Let us confess, nevertheless, 
that in these modern days, the enemies of Holy 
Church appear to have succeeded better in group- 
ing and uniting their forces than her friends have 
done. 

Is it because the rivalries of ambition, mutual 
hatred, and the quarrels of selfishness, in conflict 
with selfishness itself, make union necessary^ a 
central power requisite — a governing force giving 
a cohesion that is external rather than real ? 
It may be so, but harsh discipline, a rod of 
iron, authority which either bends or breaks ; and 
on the other hand, selfish interests, pliant, ready 



226 £tyc SoUaltttcs of tf)t Blcsseti Hirgiit 

for anything, are Often the secret of the union of 
unbelievers. 

Christians, so long as their conscience is not 
forced and they are allowed the free exercise of 
their religion, do not trouble themselves so much 
about this kind of union. United in faith and 
love in Holy Church, their ready and contented 
submission to religious and civil authority opens 
a certain and an honest career to them ; a career 
of virtue -and honor under the direction of those 
whom our Lord constituted representatives of His 
divine authority. They are peaceably journeying 
towards the City of God. They lay no snares for 
anyone ; they brood over no evil plots. Why, 
then, should they be occupied about the organiza- 
tion of central associations ? 

In a normal condition of things, the idea would 
hardly have entered their minds, excepting so far 
as piety and zeal should find in association a 
precious means of bettering the condition of our 
Lord's suffering members, and of bringing wan- 
derers from the faith back into the fold. 

At the present time the situation is not normal. 
The Church everywhere is a prey to persecution, 
and her children share the hatred of which their 
Mother is the object. Peace and liberty for them 
are an exception. Wickedness and disorder 
assumed, at the beginning of our century, such 



importance of jsotialtttes in our Darj 227 

power and boldness, that at last even the good 
seemed to have capitulated and to have delivered 
up the stronghold. They thought themselves 
happy if able to take refuge behind that weak 
rampart called "freedom of personal convic- 
tions." 

Besides, human respect ruled Catholic con- 
sciences for a long time, keeping all public mani- 
festation of faith in check. This has been the 
plague of our age in France, in Belgium, and in 
every place where the irreligious revolutionist has 
taken a quasi-official position. People dissembled 
that they were practical Christians. Could any 
true faith or zeal long tolerate such an indignity? 
Liberty to profess the faith in broad daylight must 
be regained. To this end some Catholics, like 
the seven thousand Israelites who did not bend 
the knee before Baal, 1 began the movement for 
the association and union of Christian strength, 
from which have arisen innumerable societies of 
every kind, living witnesses of the marvellous 
power of expansion of Catholicity. 

As Leo XIII. recently said in his admirable 
encyclical, entitled " Humanutn Genus"-. "Such 
a violent attack on the part of our enemies re- 
quired a defence as vigorous in return." If vio- 
lence be the characteristic of the enemies of the 

1 III. Kings xix. 18. 



228 Cfje SotiaUtteg of tfje 13lcsscti Ftrgtn 

Church, what should be the, characteristics of 
the defenders of the Faith ? Let us learn from the 
Sovereign Pontiff, who says: "Let the good unite 
together in a vast coalition for action and prayer ; 
let them become invincible through concord and 
union. Amplissitnam quamdam coeant opus est et 
agendi societatem et precandi" In some Catholic 
countries Catholics had forestalled this appeal of 
the Vicar of Jesus Christ, and had already begun 
a serious resistance to the enemy's league. Ger- 
many was witness to the noble coalition which 
the*" Katholische Vereine " organized against the 
Protestant colossus. Though weak at first, the 
German Catholic Union, under the direction of 
its pastors, has been, through enduring patience, 
the despair of its persecutors. 

The Belgian Catholics, true to the liberty and 
the faith of their ancestors, have been able, thanks 
to their co-operation with the clergy, to reduce 
to impotence the audacious undertaking of a gov- 
ernment that pretended to keep neutral ; they 
have adhered to the principle of Christian educa- 
tion, and prepared a happier future for their 
country. The Sovereign Pontiff's encyclical will 
certainly arouse a movement of resistance and 
expansion everywhere ; it will everywhere stimu- 
late the ardor and confidence of the sons of the 
Catholic Church. We do not intend to speak 



importance of JSotraltties in our Dag 229 

here of those numerous political associations 
whose principal aim has been the furtherance of 
conservatism ; nor of the multitude of societies 
for promoting letters, science, art, and all that is 
indirectly of interest to Christianity. We merely 
wish to examine the part the sodalities of the 
Holy Virgin are called upon to take in the reli- 
gious crusade which the Vicar of Jesus Christ 
wishes to see organized everywhere against the 
enemies of the Church. 

Their part, as history shows us, is a peaceful 
one, and differs essentially from that of circles 
and other associations which Catholics have es- 
tablished for political ends. Is it a less impor- 
tant one ? Joseph de Maistre, the most dreaded 
adversary of the revolution and of irreligion, when 
remarking upon the great conversions of this cen- 
tury and the reopening of the English Parliament 
to Catholics, wrote : " Everything foretells a gen- 
eral change, a magnificent revolution, of which 
the one just ended (as is said) was but the terrible 
and "indispensable precursor. To make this new- 
revolution certain, a result to which all our prayers 
should tend, to strike the great enemy of the 
Church a final blow, what is needed ? Alas, that 
final and most decisive of all arguments, — Con- 
formity of conduct with the principles we profess. 
If our virtues could be cited as a proof of our 



230 2H}e Sotiaiitteg of tfje Blcsscti Ftrgttt 

faith, all the respectable enemies of that faith 
would not only forego their prejudices, but would 
also throw themselves into our arms." 1 These 
words, so full of truth, recall to mind the martyr, 
Bishop St. Cyprian, who said more concisely : 
"JVon magna loquirnur, sea 7 vivimus" The early 
Christians did indeed present an all-powerful ar- 
gument and apology to their pagan persecutors by 
the spectacle of their virtues. It would be a de- 
plorable mistake and a most bitter disappointment 
to imagine there can be anything more important 
for the furtherance of the good cause and for 
the prosperity of the state than the training of a 
truly Christian race. Men who, in the contrary 
sense of St. Cyprian, are more powerful in speech 
than they are in practical virtue, would produce 
nothing either solid, stable, or grand, if they were 
numerous in the Catholic Church. The private 
and public life of the true Christian must be in 
perfect accord. From this point of view, we must 
acknowledge that sodalities and other pious asso- 
ciations are of great importance to the Ch.irch, 
but we do not in the least mean or pretend to say 
that they are necessary to her. 

Yes, it is a great work to form practical and 
zealous Christians, devoted servants of our Lord 

1 Letter on the secular celebration of the Protestants, 1S18. 
Lettres et Opuscules ineditj. Edition de Bruxelles, II-., p. 287. 



importance of 5o&altttes in our Dag 231 

Jesus Christ. This is the special work of pious 
associations of all kinds ; whether established for 
the working, middle, or higher classes, they train 
men to be Catholics in the true sense of the word 
— Catholics whose conduct will be conformed to 
the holy principles of their divine religion. They 
fit men for all the great undertakings inspired by 
charity and zeal. They produce men who, if 
called to a public life, will always be an honor to 
society and to the Church. 

But, above all, it is the youth of our age who, 
in their first trial of liberty, have special need of 
protection, and of the strength and help to be 
found in active piety and charity ; and that is what 
the socialities supply. 

Pope Pius IX., in his decree Exponendum 
nuper? said : " Nothing is more pleasing to us 
than to see the faithful, and most especially the 
young men, whom impiety seeks to ensnare, en- 
rolling themselves in those confraternities whose 
principal aim is to sustain and animate devotion 
to the Immaculate Mother of God." His Holi- 
ness Leo XIII. has lately deigned to show the 
deep interest he takes in the sodalities for young 
men. Hearing of the happy results accomplished 
by the fervent confraternity of the Scaletta, which 

1 Granted in 1863, on the occasion of the third centenary of the 
first institution of the Primaria at Rome. 



232 &ije SoUaltttcg of tfje Bksseti Utrgtn 

numbers several hundred Roman students, His 
Holiness caused a letter full of encouragement 
and kindness to be written to its Director. The 
Holy Father even expressed a desire to see the 
chapel of this pious association enlarged, and ac- 
cordingly authorized the Cardinal-Vicar to contri- 
bute to the expense of the alterations. 

It is a fact of experience not requiring demon- 
stration, that young men, and Christians in gen- 
eral, find strength and encouragement to piety 
under the protection of Mary, in the example of 
fellow members, and in frequent communion. St. 
Alphonsus of Liguori applied these words to the 
sodalities : " Turns David, milk clypei pendent 
ex ea, omnis armatura for Hum" — "They are 
like the tower of David ; they contain a thousand 
shields, the whole armor of the strong;" and he 
added : " Such is the reason of their fruitfulness." 
They provide ample means of defence against 
hell, and they furnish opportunities for preserving 
grace through the practice of piety, opportunities 
which are almost unattainable for seculars living 
outside of them. 1 

The socialities of the Holy Virgin are essentially 
associations for. the promotion of piety. If we 
have emphasized their active character, we have 
at least considered it as but a natural result, a 

l Complete works. Paris, 1835, v °l- ^f> P- 4*6- 



importance of So&alttteg in our Sag 233 

necessary consequence, not as being the very- 
essence of these institutions. The first object of 
the confraternities is firmly to root the reign of 
Jesus Christ and that of His holy grace in the 
hearts of the faithful, and then to develop Chris- 
tian life. When the blessed mother of Jesus 
Christ stood at the foot of the cross, and heard 
the words of the dying Saviour, " Woman, behold 
thy Son ! Son, behold thy Mother ! *' it was doubt- 
less her wish to adopt the servants of her divine 
Son. Moreover, on the day of his consecration, 
the associate is admitted into the family of the 
privileged children of Mary. As in this public 
declaration at the foot of the altar, he devotes 
himself to the service of the Mother of God, and 
accepts her for his adopted mother — Sancta Maria, 
Mater Dei ac mea — the Holy Virgin, in loving re- 
turn, adopts him for the child of her heart. Thus 
a mutual bond of a special character is created, 
because of the solemnity with which the tie is 
cemented. In truth, the Director receives the 
postulant by virtue of the power confided to him 
by the Holy See, and in the name of Holy 
Church, saying : " Receive these letters patent, 
which declare you to be a child of Mary. For 
the future, manifest even more earnestly than 
you have clone that you are really her child " — ■ 
"Accipe has patentes litteras, quibus assertus es B. 



234 ^ e So&alttieg ol tfje ISlesseti Uirgtn 

Maria Virginis filius, sea 7 tu melius moribus ac pie- 
taie te Ejusdemfilium exhibeP 1 

This legal adoption, made in the name of the 
Vicar of Jesus Christ, confers a special title to 
the maternal care of the Holy Virgin. Just as St. 
John became the son of Christ's mother more 
specially than did the other apostles, 2 so the sodal- 
ist is more specially her child and the object of 
her care. That devout servant of Mary, dear St. 
Alphonsus Liguori, expresses the same opinion. 
"As associates, by enrolling themselves in the 
book of the sons of Mary," says the saint, " show 
their desire to become her children and eminent 
servants, this good mother treats them in return 
with distinction, and protects them in life and in 
death. Thus they can truly say, on entering the 
sociality, that they have received every blessing. 
'Venerunt mihi omnia bona pariter cum ilia.'" 3 
The annals of the sodality quote numerous strik- 
ing examples of this special protection. The 
same saint has also cited many similar illustra- 
tions in his admirable work on the devotion to 
Mary. 4 

1 Historical Notices, ch. 25, on the manner of admitting social- 
ists, and of their reception, p. 81. 

2 Crasset, Congregations de la T. S. Vierge, edition Carayon, 
p. 99. 

8 Vol, cited, p. 419. 

4 See vol. cited ; Recueil d'exemples, n. 23-39. 



importance of So&altttes in our Bag 235 

Is it then too much to say that holiness, piety, 
and all Christian virtues, and the love and hom- 
age of Mary are in constant connection with one 
another? Is it not from this admirable Mother 
that Jesus Christ is born in souls, and is it not 
she who aids them to form in their hearts, day by 
day, a more perfect likeness of their Divine 
Model ? It is she who gave strong and glorious 
generations of Christians to past ages. The so- 
dality has been the privileged field for her activity 
in the church, a field as vast as the world ; for, as 
we have seen, sodalities have been established all 
over the surface of the globe, reaping everywhere 
the blessings which Alary has given to the pri- 
mary sodality at Rome. 

In this century, wherever the Society of Jesus 
has been able to labor for souls, it has taken up 
its traditional work and ardor. • Whether by its 
own efforts alone, or by the aid of the secular 
clergy, it has founded numerous socialities. 

May the Jubilee which His Holiness Leo XIII. 
has just granted so liberally to the Sociality of the 
Annunciation at Rome, and to its affiliated sodal- 
ities, arouse more and more the piety and zeal of 
the children of Mary ! 

The praise which the Sovereign Pontiff designed 
to bestow upon the Prima Primaria is a powerful 
incentive to all. 



236 STije Sofcaltttcg of tfje Biesseti Ftrgm 



APPENDIX 

Brief of $ts holiness, ^ope Eeo HI 

Leo XIII. Pope, fo?' Perpetual Remembrance 

A MONG the prosperous sodalities which have 
** been instituted in different parts of the world 
in honor of the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, the 
place of honor belongs without dispute to the one 
called the Prima Primaria, whose name, even, 
shows the pre-eminence it has gained over all 
others. 

By virtue of the Apostolic Letter given under 
the Fisherman's ring, by Our predecessor of 
blessed memory, Gregory XIII., this confra- 
ternity was canonically established under the title 
of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 
Remarkable at all times for the number of its 
members, enriched by the Roman Pontiffs from 
the treasury of indulgences, it increased so rapidly 
that soon, by the grace of God, it spread through- 
out the world, and at the present time in all 



JSrtif of 3Lco 11 237 



countries, even in continents beyond the seas, 
socialities under the same name and rule recognize 
their Mother. 

As the three hundredth anniversary of the 
canonical establishment of this Primary Sodality 
occurs on the fifth of December of the present year, 
Our well-beloved son, Anthony Maria Anderledy, 
Vicar-General of the Society of Jesus, has be- 
sought Us to be pleased to open, for this auspicious 
occasion, the heavenly treasures of the church of 
which the Almighty has made Us the distributer. 
Willing to comply with this request as well as We 
are enabled to do in our Lord, and confiding in? 
the mercy of Almighty God, and in the authority 
of the Apostles, SS. Peter and Paul, — We piously 
concede and grant to all regular clerks of the said 
Society of Jesus, and to all the socialists who are 
or who shall be enrolled in the said Sodality of 
the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary, Mother 
of God, on the fifth day of the month of De- 
cember, of this year, or on such other day as the 
directors of the different sodalities shall appoint 
for the celebration of this Centenary Solemnity, 
without postponement, however, beyond the end 
of the year 1885, a plenary indulgence and re- 
mission of their sins, an indulgence applicable 
by way of suffrage to the souls of the faithful in 
purgatory, — on these two conditions, viz. : first, 



238 &f)e Sodalities of tf>e iSlcssctr Uirgin 

that the sodalists shall be present five times, at 
the exercises which precede, during nine Con- 
secutive days, the said solemnity ; second, that, 
if truly penitent, and after Confession and Com- 
munion, they shall devoutly visit a chapel or 
church of their sodality, to pray for peace among 
Christian princes, for the extirpation of heresy, for 
the conversion of sinners, and the exaltation of 
Holy Church, our Mother. 

And, in order that the faithful may the more 
readily participate in these heavenly blessings, — - 
We grant and concede by Our Apostolic authority 
and by this present brief, to the respective ordi- 
naries of the places where these sodalities exist, the 
faculty to depute secular or regular priests 
(already approved) to hear their confessions, in 
order that, after having carefully heard them, they 
may, in the tribunal of conscience only, and by 
imposing a salutary penance, absolve the said 
faithful from all their sins, crimes, and misdeeds ; 
as well as from excommunication and other eccle- 
siastical censures, including the penalties attached 
to them, which Pius IX., of blessed memory, 
reserved for the Roman Pontiff, in his constitution 
of the nth of October, 1869: " Apostolicce Sedis 
Moderationi" (We except articles 1, 7, and 10 
of the excommunications latce sententice, reserved to 
the Roman Pontiff by the same constitution, and 



Brief of 3Leo Hi 



239 



We will that these reservations be maintained in 
full vigor.) The priests aforesaid may also com- 
mute simple vows for some other pious work, the 
choice being left to their prudence and discre- 
tion. 

To the said clerks of the Society of Jesus, as 
well as to the said members of the sodalities 
whom infirmity or other obstacles, of whatever 
kind, may prevent wholly or partially from ful- 
filling the appointed conditions, We concede and 
grant that approved confessors may commute 
these conditions and impose other pious works, 
such as their penitents may be able to perform. 
Notwithstanding Our rule and that of the Apos- 
tolic office, not to grant indulgences ad instar ; 
and this notwithstanding other Apostolic constitu- 
tions and ordinances, or other documents, how- 
ever much to the contrary they may be. 

This present brief is available for this one 
occasion only. We will and direct that copies of 
this present brief, either printed or written, shall 
have the same authority as the original instru- 
ment, provided that they are signed by a notary 
public, and confirmed by the seal of a person 
having ecclesiastical authority. 

Given at Rome, at St. Peter's, under the 
Fisherman's ring, the 27th of May, 1884, in the 
seventh year of our Pontificate. 

Fl. Card. Chigi. 



240 STJje Sotialittcs of tfje Blesseti Ftrgttt 

3Le0 TO. He 

Ad futuram rei memoriam 

PRUGIFERAS inter Sodalitates, quas in Deiparae 
* Virginis honorem sunt ubique terrarum insti- 
tute, principem procul dubio locum obtinet, quae 
Prima Primaria appellator, et ipso nomine prodit 
quantum amplitudine ceteris antecellit. Haec enim 
Congregatio per Apostolicas sub Piscatoris annulo 
datas litteras a Gregorio XIII Praedecessore 
Nostro s. m. ad invocationem Beatae Mariae Vir- 
ginis ab Angelo Salutatae canonice primum erecta, 
sodalium frequentia jugiter conspicua, indulgen- 
tiarumque thesauris per Romanos Pontiflces ditata 
ea incrementa suscepit, ut in universum terrarum 
orbem sese brevi Deo favente extenderet, atque 
ad prassens omnibus in regionibus magno etiam 
terrae marisque intervallo disjunctis, filiales ejus- 
dem nominis et instituti Congregationes reperian- 
tur. Nunc autem cum die quinta mensis Decem- 
bris hujus vertentis anni canonicas Congregationis 
ejusdem erectionis centenaria solemnitas tertia 
vice recurrat, dilectus filius Antonius Maria Ander- 
ledy Vicarius Generalis Societatis Jesu enixas 
Nobis adhibuit preces, ut ccelestes ecclesiae the- 
sauros, quorum dispensatores Nos esse voluit 



Brief of ILeo MM 241 



Altissimus, hac auspicatissima occasione reserare 
clignaremur. Nos autem piis hisce votis obsecun- 
dare, quantum in Domino possumus, volentes, de 
Omnipotentis Dei misericordia, ac Beatorum Petri 
et Pauli Apostolorum ejus auctoritate confisi, om- 
nibus et singulis turn Clericis Regularibus ex eadem 
Societate Jesu, turn Sodalibus dictam Sodalitatem 
Deiparae Virginis ab Angelo Salutatae inscriptis, 
vel pro tempore inscribendis, qui vel die quinta 
Decembris mensis hujus anni, vel die per singu- 
larum hujusmodi Congregationum Moderatores 
statuendo, non tamen ultra limites adventantis 
anni MDCCCLXXXV quo centenaria solemnitas 
celebrabitur, respectivae Congregationis Ecclesiam, 
vel Sacellum vere pcenitentes et confessi, ac S. 
Communione refecti devote visitaverint, ibique 
pro Christianorum Principum concordia, haeresum 
extirpatione, peccatorum conversions, ac S. Matris 
Ecclesiae exaltatione pias ad Deum preces effude- 
rint, dummodo novendiali supplicationi, eidem 
solemnitati praemittendae saltern quinquies adstite- 
rint, Plenariam omnium peccatorum suorum indul- 
gentiam et remissionem, etiam animabus Christi- 
fidelium in purgatorio detentis per modum suffragii 
applicabilem misericorditer in Domino concedimus, 
atque elargimur. Ut autem Christifideles cceles- 
tium munerum hujusmodi facilius valeant esse 
participes, de Apostolica Nostra auctoritate per 



242 GTJjt <S>otraltttes of tfye 3Slesseti Utrgitt 

praesentes facult'atem tribuimus, ac elargimur, ex 
qua respectivi locorum in quibus Congregationes 
supramemoratse canonice erectae extant Antistites 
aliquot Presbyteros saeculares vel regulares, ad 
excipiendas ipsorum sacramen tales cohfessiones 
alias approbatos deputare licite valeant, qui eosdem 
Christifideles, eorumdem confessionibus diligenter 
auditis, ab omnibus quibuscumque excessibus, 
criminibus et casibus, nee non excommunicatione, 
aliisque Ecclesiasticis censuris, ac pcenis desuper 
inflictis, Romano Pontifici vigore Constitutionis 
a fe : me : Pio PP. IX quarto idus Octobris 
MDCCCLXIX editae, quae incipit Apostolus Sedis 
Modcrationi quomodolibet reservatis, exceptis casi- 
bus sub articulo primo, septimo, ac decimo ex- 
communicationum latae sententiae speciali modo 
Romano Pontifici reservatarum ejusdem constitu- 
tionis, pro quibus reservationein in suo plene 
robore manere volumus, imposita cuilibet arbitrio 
suo pcenitentia salutari in foro conscientiae tantum 
absolvere, votaque simplicia in aliud pium opus 
eorum similiter arbitrio et prudentia commutare 
possint. Clericis vero supradictis e Societate 
Jesu, nee non praefatis Sodalibus aliqua corporis 
infirmitate, seu alio quocumque impedimento de- 
tentis, qui supra expressa, vel eorum aliqua prae- 
stare nequiverint, ut ilia Confessarii jam approbati 
in alia pietatis opera commutare possint, eaque 



Brief of ILeo £ffi 243 



injungere, quae ipsi pcenitentes efficere valeant 
pariter concedimus, et indulgemus. -Non obstanti- 
bus nostra, ac Cancellariae Apostolicae regula de 
non concedendis indulgentiis ad instar, aliisque 
Constitutionibus, et Ordinationibus Apostolicis, 
ceterisque contrariis quibuscumque. Praesentibus 
hac vice tantum valituris. Volumus autem ut 
praesentium litterarum trasumptis, seu exemplis. 
etiam impressis, manu aiicujus Notarii publici 
subscriptis, et sigillo personam in ecclesiastica 
dignitate constitutae praemunitis, eadem prorsus 
adhibeatur fides, quae adhibetur ipsis praesentibus. 
si forent exhibitae vel ostensae. Datum Romae 
apud S. Petrum sub annuJo Piscatoris die XXVII 
Maii MDCCCLXXXIV Pontincatus Nostri Anno 
Septimo. 

Fl. Card. Chisius. 
L. * S. 

Concordat cum exemplo, quod 
munitum est Summi Pontificis sigittc 

Antonius M. Anderledy, S. J. 

t 

Concordat cum exemplari Fesulano. 



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022 171 820J 



